Ashburnham Avenue & Kilburn Curve Tube Noise (2)

Navin Shah: I have two long standing tube noise issues in my constituency. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a clear picture of progress on these issues from TfL. Firstly, can you provide an update on the tube noise situation at Ashburnham Avenue? The last communication I had on this issue in early November promised an update soon, but I have received none. As to the ‘Kingsbury Curve’, the campaigners have recently sent a diary of events since 2016 giving a full history of the noise issues and they note that lubrication of the track has not made any difference to the level of noise being experienced. In both areas the residents have been patient and understanding for well over five years. Where are we with these two issues please? How long will they have to wait before they have the quality of life restored?

The Mayor: Tube noise is a priority for both Transport for London (TfL) and me.
At Kingsbury, TfL is continuing to investigate new on-train lubricators, which further reduces friction between the wheels and track, particularly around curves. Static testing has now been undertaken, and TfL has now started trialling these on-train lubricators in service, on an initial train. If effective, there will be a program of works to install these on the entire fleet.
TfL is also continuing to investigate fitting electrical lubricators to the track in this area, and expects that installation will start in spring 2021. I have asked that TfL provides you with an update on progress next month.
At Harrow-on-the-Hill (Ashburnham Avenue), TfL commissioned an independent industry expert to conduct a report into the expected efficacy of an acoustic barrier in this location. However, given the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, TfL has unfortunately had to delay some non-safety critical activities. This has meant although TfL continues to invest in Tube track renewal and maintenance, its analysis of and response to this report has been delayed. Additionally, the short-term nature of TfL’s funding deals with the government means it has not yet been able to confirm its noise and vibration budget for the 2021/22 financial year, from which any intervention in this area would need to be funded.
TfL is committed to reducing Tube noise for residents of Harrow-on-the-Hill and Kingsbury as far as is practicable within its constraints, and once the relevant budget has been confirmed, will be able to confirm its next steps

Officer vaccinations

Unmesh Desai: How many Police Officers and staff have received their first dose of the vaccine? If possible, please provide this figures broken down by BCU.

The Mayor: Specific data on the total number of officers who have received the vaccine is not available.

Met Taser Training

Susan Hall: In the July 2020 Met Management Board meeting, it states that they are undertaking work to explore if new police officers can be offered taser training after 84 weeks. What was the outcome and the reasoning behind the decision?

The Mayor: I understand from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) that the Met Management Board agreed that further work would be required before a decision could be made.
The MPS have advised that, at this time, there is no operational requirement to offer taser training to officers at 84 weeks, but the position will remain under review.

Highbury Corner (5)

Caroline Russell: Constituents tell me that lights controlling traffic near the pedestrian crossing of St Paul’s Road at Highbury Corner are not functioning effectively and that queueing eastbound traffic is flowing through the crossing while the green signal is shown for pedestrians. Will you urgently check the performance of pedestrian crossings at Highbury Corner to ensure they are safe?

The Mayor: Since the upgrade of Highbury Corner, Transport for London (TfL) has been working closely with the London Borough of Islington and other stakeholders to ensure safe and efficient operation of the network. TfL has checked to make sure these junctions are operating without any faults and site visits have confirmed they are operating safely.
Following your enquiry, TfL met with borough officers who are now reviewing the loading restrictions and design for the Highbury Grove junction. TfL has been closely monitoring the site using CCTV and its engineers have been on site to observe the operation of the signals. As a result, TfL has identified some potential changes to the signal timings that will improve the overall operation and will implement changes in the coming weeks. It will also continue to monitor the site and update Islington accordingly.

Borough Point of Contact for Women Leaving Prison

Caroline Pidgeon: It is essential that women leaving prison have access to housing, support and advice to keep them safe and reduce the risk of re-offending, as outlined in the recent report by the Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison. What work is MOPAC doing with London Boroughs and others to ensure there is a single point of contact for (re)housing women released from prison?

The Mayor: I have convened a multi-agency Accommodation & Housing Task Group, of which Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison are members. This group has drafted an Action Plan, containing a specific commitment to identify in-prison custody Single Points of Contact (SPOCs). These SPOCS will link with housing services and establish a multi-agency referral pathway for London women in custody both pre- and post-prison release. Procedures are being developed to deliver this.

The iREPORTit App for Reporting Terrorist Content Online (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: We have seen a considerable increase in many online crimes during the COVID-19 lockdown including hate speech and child sexual exploitation. Will you consider expanding the iREPORTit app or using the investment to date to develop a similar app for reporting a wider range of serious online criminal activity?

The Mayor: After the initial 3-month pilot period (sponsored through my Civic Innovation Challenge), consideration for continued use of the iREPORTit app and responsibility for the ownership of any future contract will revert to the MPS’ Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU).
I recognize that the app’s technical innovation could have uses beyond its current purpose, such as for the reporting of multiple harms and crimes such as hate crime and child sexual exploitation.
My CVE Programme team will work to ensure that the potential future use of the technology to report other harms and crimes is raised with the police and other appropriate stakeholders.
The app is available and free to download for both Apple iOS and Android devices.

London’s Waking Watches (1)

Andrew Dismore: How many residential buildings in London are currently operating waking watches? Please provide a borough by borough breakdown of the numbers.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. Residential buildings operating a waking watch or evacuation management system could be in the form of personnel on site or a remote monitoring system, but the arrangement is for the Responsible Person to determine guided by a competent fire safety professional. The figures can change on a daily basis when interim measures are required, or the building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, as at 14 February 2021, are presented by borough in the table below.
Local Authority
Blocks
Barking and Dagenham
14
Barnet
12
Bexley
3
Brent
42
Bromley
4
Camden
17
City of London
2
Croydon
29
Ealing
14
Enfield
0
Greenwich
57
Hackney
60
Hammersmith and Fulham
10
Haringey
7
Harrow
2
Havering
8
Hillingdon
3
Hounslow
17
Islington
27
Kensington and Chelsea
14
Kingston upon Thames
4
Lambeth
22
Lewisham
32
Merton
4
Newham
26
Redbridge
6
Richmond
0
Southwark
59
Sutton
3
Tower Hamlets
114
Waltham Forest
5
Wandsworth
31
Westminster
34
Total
682

London’s Waking Watches (2)

Andrew Dismore: Please provide a breakdown of the residential buildings in London currently operating waking watches by height (under 11m, 11-18m and over 18m).

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of 'stay put' policy where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. Residential buildings operating a waking watch or evacuation management system could be in the form of personnel on site or a remote monitoring system, but the arrangement is for the Responsible Person to determine guided by a competent fire safety professional. The figures can change on a daily basis when iterim measures are required or the building is remediated and no longer require the interim measures. The number of building where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, as at 14 February 2021, broken down into height parameter, are set out in the table below.
Building Height
Residential buildings in London
Under 11m
13
11-18m
87
Over 18m
582
Total
682

The iREPORTit App for Reporting Terrorist Content Online (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: I very much welcome the launch of the iREPORTit app to support Londoners in reporting terrorist content online. Please provide more information on how you will be working with the Met and others to promote the app so that Londoners are aware of it and how to use it, which will be essential to its success.

The Mayor: I am delighted that my administration has launched a pilot of an app which allows the public to refer online terrorist content. The app, iREPORTit is easy, quick, and entirely anonymous.
My Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme team have led the iREPORTit project which has been funded through my Civic Innovation Challenge. They have been working closely with the Counter Terrorist Internet Referral Unit and National Counter Terrorism Policing to proactively promote the app through practitioners, stakeholders, civil society groups, community organisations and education institutes.
In addition, a general awareness campaign for the app is running on social media and has resulted in impressions across millions of accounts. However, I would of course welcome any further support you and London Assembly could provide in championing and promoting the app. The app is available and free to download for both Apple iOS and Android devices.
Community strength and cohesion, both in physical and digital spaces, is vital to a strong and powerful society. Empowering the public with the tools to help stop terrorism is a crucial part of this.

London and Partners

Shaun Bailey: What is the total amount of GLA funding for London and Partners in the 2021/22 year?

The Mayor: I have allocated £11.17 million of GLA funding to London & Partners in my budget submission for 2021/22, which was approved by the London Assembly on 25th February.

Phase 2 of the UCL Initial Assessment of London Bus Driver Mortality from Covid-19 (1)

Keith Prince: Ostensibly, the UCL report on Bus Driver Mortality was to be published in December 2020. Why has it been delayed? What date did UCL sign off on the report?

The Mayor: The Phase 2 research by the UCL Institute of Health Equity has been ongoing through the winter. There was an initial delay in UCL receiving ethical approvals sign off to enable the work to commence in the autumn followed by a further slight delay during the survey period to ensure that an adequate response rate was received. The survey was sent to the bus operators on 20 October 2020 and closed on 4 January 2021. The findings have been analysed and the report is in the final stages of drafting and preparation. Transport for London anticipates that the report will be published this spring.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (8)

Keith Prince: Are Bus Drivers required to wear masks in the ferry vehicle?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2021/0549.

TfL’s 30 Year Contract with First Group TOL

Keith Prince: Following up on the contents of my Question 2020/4107, given the 3 nearly catastrophic Safety Incidents on the Croydon Tram that took place on 5 August 2020, 14 September 2020 and 21 October 2020 coupled with First Group TOL’s failure to report the 14 September incident to TfL, will you now give serious consideration to terminating First Group TOL’s 30 Year Contract for ‘serious and material default’ on safety?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has raised these incidents at the most senior level within FirstGroup and with the regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation. TfL has also issued a contract notice to TOL highlighting the serious nature of the Mitcham incident and the breach of subsequent provisions regarding regulatory reporting, and will continue to take appropriate steps in accordance with the contractual arrangements.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Steve O'Connell: For each year 2018, 2019 and 2020, how many incidents of child sexual exploitation were recorded by the Met? If the number has increased, what are the reasons behind this?

The Mayor: Child Sexual Exploitation information is published in the MOPAC quarterly reports – which are available here: https://www.london.gov.uk/mopac-publications?order=DESC. The number of recorded CSE incidents between 2018 and 2020 were: 2018 – 867; 2019 – 620; and 2020 – 1,000. There will be multiple factors for the increased recording of incidents. Further analysis will be undertaken to better understand the reasons for the recent increase.

"TfL Go" App (1)

Susan Hall: How much did it cost to build & launch the "TfL Go" app in 2020?

The Mayor: The TfL Go app launched on iOS in August 2020 and on Android in December 2020. The TfL Go app cost £1.9m to develop and launch as of the Android release.

Hate Crimes against East and South East Asians

Unmesh Desai: Please provide the number of hate crimes recorded where the victim’s ethnic appearance is recorded as East or South East Asian, in each month between October and December, for each of the last 3 years.

The Mayor: Please see the attached spreadsheet containing the requested information.

The Mayor: 1097_Hate Crimes against East and South East Asians.xlsx

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Streetspace and Demoralised School Staff

David Kurten: According to a Daily Telegraph article ‘Road closures lower teacher morale and affect the quality of education’ on 23 January 2021, teachers who drive to work due to having heavy bags of schoolwork, or moving between sites, have their journeys dramatically increased as a result of pop-up cycle lanes, road closures causing bottlenecks and gridlock on main roads1. One head of an Academy Trust has written to Croydon Council to scrap its Low Traffic Neighbourhoods because of “enormous impact” with some staff “now seeking work elsewhere as they cannot manage the extended journey to and from work.” What is your response to the schools and teachers who are facing the bitter realities of your Streetspace Plan and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

1https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/23/road-closures-lower-teacher-morale-affect-quality-education/

The Mayor: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) are created in order to reduce through traffic or ‘rat-running’ on local streets to make them safer for people to walk and cycle.
Schemes delivered under the London Streetspace Programme in 2020, to encourage walking and cycling and reduce pressure on public transport during the pandemic, were delivered in line with government guidance as a rapid response to the imperative of the public health crisis, with very limited opportunities for consultation. Nonetheless, Transport for London (TfL) and boroughs continued to engage with key stakeholders, including local schools, in order to modify schemes post-implementation. All of these schemes are temporary and will be reviewed.
I understand that the London Borough of Croydon has since carried out a consultation exercise looking at options to amend the Low Traffic Neighbourhood in question. Other boroughs have also made changes to schemes based on local feedback, with TfL support.
Evidence from previous LTNs shows that the improved environment for walking and cycling supports people to reduce their car use, and increase their levels of walking and cycling. However as with all changes to the transport network, it takes time for people to adjust to new road layouts. Evidence from other LTNs shows people adjust their routes, the times they travel and the way they travel. Therefore, any increases in congestion are unlikely to be permanent. Traffic levels and patterns also change for other reasons, and will not necessarily be as a result of LTNs.
The true traffic impacts of LTNs cannot be known until schemes have been in place for a while, which is why TfL is paying close attention to changes in traffic levels and bus journey times in and around the trial schemes, and comparing them with changes in areas where LTNs have not been introduced.

Force Management statement 2020

Unmesh Desai: Please provide a copy of the 2020 Met Force Management Statement.

The Mayor: Due to Covid-19, HMICFRS suspended the requirement for Force Management Statements (FMS) in 2020. The MPS is however, currently working on its Force Management Statement for 2021, which is expected to be published in the Autumn.

Closure orders

Unmesh Desai: How many closure orders have the Met enforced, relating to premises being used for a) drug dealing and b) Anti-social behaviour, in each of the last 4 years?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested data.

The Mayor: 1090_Closure orders.xlsx

Victim Support (2)

Susan Hall: Please provide evidence that the specialist support services provided by Victim Support, via your £15m injection of funding for victims & witnesses, have won the confidence of victims and witnesses, thereby enabling them to recover and to not undergo further trauma.

The Mayor: For calendar year 2020, on average 97% of respondents to the London Victim and Witness Service’s (LVWS) User Survey agreed that the services provided by LVWS improved their health and wellbeing and made them better informed about how to cope with the impact of crime.

15m investment for victims & witnesses (4)

Susan Hall: Has your £15m investment in improved services for victims & services met the other key priority in your Police & Crime Plan i.e. continuing to invest in Independent Domestic Violence Advocates?

The Mayor: Yes. I have provided funding for 45 Independent Domestic Violence Advocates within the London Victim and Witness Service as part of my investment in improved services for victims and witnesses.

15m investment for victims & witnesses (1)

Susan Hall: Further to your press release in 2019 announcing your £15m investment in improved services for victims & witnesses, has all of the money been allocated? Please provide headline figures detailing where and when it was spent.

The Mayor: Yes, the entirety of this investment has been allocated to the London Victim and Witness Service at a cost of £7,676,800 a year for 2019/20 and 2020/21.

City hall funded officers

Unmesh Desai: How many Met Police officers have been funded by City Hall in each year since 2012?

The Mayor: Since taking office, I have allocated more than £1bn in additional funding from City Hall to the Metropolitan Police Service – a record amount. This investment has funded 1,300 additional police officers. 300 officers are funded from the Police precept and a further 1,000 officers are funded from business rates. The 300 officers have been funded on an ongoing basis since 2018-19 and the 1,000 officers on the same basis since 2019-20.
Before 2018-19 no distinction was drawn between officers funded via City Hall or other funding streams such as government grant, so equivalent statistics for previous years are unavailable.

Met LGBT+ Advisors

Tony Devenish: The Met has said it was appointing 250 advisers specialising in LGBT+ hate crime who would be trained to recognise the issues faced by London's transgender community. Please can you provide the cost of this? Both initial training, and ongoing annual costs

The Mayor: The Adviser scheme was launched in October 2019 with some advisors drawn from existing MPS staff who had already been trained. The MPS LGBTQ+ Staff Network worked with City of London Police and Aviva to deliver the first training conference in February 2020. This was a one-day course and covered a range of issues affecting LGBTQ+ communities across London. This included an awareness session on issues posed to transgendered communities, along with a range of other LGBTQ+ matters. The training conference facilities and all refreshments were hosted and sponsored by Aviva, and the expenses for all guest speakers were absorbed by City of London Police. The conference content and delivery were organised by a small team of four individuals of the Met’s LGBTQ+ Staff Support Network Committee. All members of the MPS LGBTQ+ Staff Support Networks including the Committee are volunteers who deliver this support in addition to their own role
The ongoing training costs are sponsored by the city of London Police who support an online Seminar. There are no training costs to MPS other than use of staff time. Additional support is provided within existing budgets by the MPS business groups, who commit a minimum of two hours per month to LGBTQ+ Adviser engagement.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (1)

Keith Prince: From bus drivers, I’ve learned that bus garages directly employ ferry drivers who are responsible for transporting starting bus drivers in a car or a minibus from the bus garage to a change-over point and who also sometime return with drivers who are finishing. Phase 1 of the UCL Initial Assessment of London Bus Driver Mortality from Covid-19 published in August 2020 stipulated that “TfL’s occupational risk assessment tool should be used by London bus companies to identify those most vulnerable—with the oversight of TfL—to reduce the risk of employee’s exposure to and acquisition of Covid-19’. Was the ferry driving of bus drivers from depots to change-over points (and vice versa) ever covered by TfL’s or Bus Operators’ Covid-19 Risk Assessments? If so, please provide me with copies of each of these Risk Assessments for each Garage where they were carried out.

The Mayor: Ferry driving is not tendered by Transport for London (TfL). It is a local arrangement for the employees of the bus operating companies, which manage the health and safety risks in accordance with Public Health England advice. For this reason, TfL does not hold this kind of risk assessment document.
TfL has provided its occupational risk tools to operators so they may choose to use these for all operational matters. Many drivers make their own arrangements for getting to and from the start and end point of their duties, and this will be managed differently by each company.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (3)

Keith Prince: Please publish the number of ferry drivers working on TfL’s Bus Operation by Bus Garage by month starting from March 2020.

The Mayor: Transport for London does not hold data on the number of ferry drivers working across London’s bus operators as these are not contracted services, but rather bespoke transit arrangements organised locally within bus operating companies.
Please also see my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/0544.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (4)

Keith Prince: What is the average number of total jobs carried out by a ferry driver on a daily basis?

The Mayor: Transport for London does not hold data on the jobs carried out by ferry drivers on a daily basis as these are not contracted services, but rather bespoke transit arrangements organised locally within bus operating companies. Many drivers also make their own arrangements for getting to and from the start and end points of their shifts.
Please also see my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/0544.

Minutes of Regular Conference Calls about Covid-19 Risk Reduction Actions TfL held with Bus Operator and Union Officials, March 2020 to present

Keith Prince: Further to your responses to Questions 2020/1623 and 2020/2119, from March 2020 can you provide me with all the minutes of the “regular conference calls” TfL held with Bus Operators and Unite the Union representatives concerning the implementation and monitoring of Covid-19 Risk Reduction Actions by them?

The Mayor: Since the coronavirus pandemic began, there have been regular online conference calls involving Transport for London (TfL) and its contracted bus operators, and separately with TfL, bus operators and Unite the Union. Minutes are not taken at these conference calls.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Streetspace Legal Implications

David Kurten: TfL’s Streetspace for London programme has reduced arterial road space for motorised vehicles. The extensive rollout of so-called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) has displaced traffic into surrounding and arterial roads. As a result of these two measures implemented in 2020, traffic gridlock has become a regular feature on many roads. Countless videos show stranded police cars, ambulances and fire engines, or they are forced to take time-consuming diversions to reach people in urgent need of attention. Have you considered the potential legal implications of Streetspace for London and LTNs in directly or indirectly delaying the responses of emergency services?

The Mayor: Early data from schemes in Hackney and Lambeth shows that traffic levels in the LTNs have fallen and have not increased on boundary roads as you suggest.
Boroughs are primarily responsible for Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) on their roads, but Transport for London (TfL) is continuing to support and encourage appropriate liaison with the emergency services to ensure these schemes can meet their objectives with minimal impact on response times. TfL also collaborates with boroughs on a mapping application to share information. TfL takes into account the impacts on emergency services as part of its decision making process, and reviews and modifies schemes as appropriate in response to feedback.
LTNs are a long-standing transport planning tool to encourage walking and cycling. I am pleased to say that initial evidence shows that LTNs are changing travel choices and enabling more walking and cycling, but the wider monitoring should capture a fuller picture. TfL looks forward to working closely with boroughs to improve the quality of life for millions of Londoners through the delivery of these schemes.

Update on name-anonymous recruitment in the GLA group (2)

Siân Berry: Can you confirm whether shortlisting for recruitment in all GLA bodies is now name-anonymous, including recruitment done through partner bodies, outsourced specialist recruitment agencies and for any other work programme, such as apprenticeship schemes run by the GLA and Transport for London (TfL)?

The Mayor: Since December 2016 all applications have been name-anonymous at shortlisting stage for all GLA staff positions advertised (internal and external) by the inhouse recruitment team and applications managed via the GLA’s online recruitment system (EngageATS).This includes all fixed term, secondment and permanent appointments as well all internship and apprenticeship campaigns.Mayor of London Board appointments are not currently name-anonymous at application stage, nor are most recruitment campaigns for staff positions which are managed by outsourced specialist recruitment agencies.
Going forward, for all future procurement processes to engage outsourced specialist recruitment agencies, we will include in the specification that successful bidders will be required to mirror the GLA’s name anonymous shortlist process.
LFB
London Fire Brigade will be moving towards name-anonymous application processes as part of the forthcoming Recruitment Strategy.
LLDC
A name-anonymous or blind recruitment process is used across all recruitment methods at the London Legacy Development Corporation.
MOPAC
MOPAC shortlisting for recruitment is name-anonymous.
MPS
The MPS does not use name-anonymous shortlisting for police officer and police staff recruitment. For initial police officer recruitment, candidates who meet the eligibility criteria progress to an assessment centre.
OPDC
The OPDC follows the GLA’s recruitment process and allrecruitmentcarriedout forthe OPDCis name-anonymous,except for recruitment managed by outsourced specialist recruitment agencies.
As with the GLA’s recruitment process, for all future procurement processes to engage outsourced specialist recruitment agencies, we will include in the specification that successful bidders will be required to mirror the GLA’s name anonymous shortlist process.
TfL
Transport for London (TfL) has introduced an anonymous recruitment process and approximately half of all its current recruitment campaigns redact any information in a CV or Cover Letter that pertains to an individuals protected characteristics, and some socio-economic factors such as address location and education level (unless required due to statutory obligation).
TfL is working toward extending the use of anonymous recruitment across TfL, wherever it is appropriate for a specific campaign to do so.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (6)

Keith Prince: How many Bus Drivers ride in the ferry vehicles? Can they maintain social distancing while being transported by a ferry vehicle?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not hold information on the number of drivers carried to and from work by ferry drivers as these are localised transit arrangements that vary across operators. Regardless of this, operators and their employees must follow Government guidance on coronavirus restrictions such as social distancing. TfL has also shared the outcomes of University College London’s work on cab protection with bus operating companies to help inform their operating decisions.

Bus Operator Ferry Driving and Covid-19 Risk (7)

Keith Prince: Are ferry drivers required to wear masks in the ferry vehicle?

The Mayor: Yes, I understand bus operators require face masks to be worn on ferry vehicle transits to and from drivers’ remote work locations unless exempt. As these internal travel arrangements are locally managed and the staff involved are employees of the operators, the companies manage this directly and make their staff aware of their personal responsibilities to help keep themselves and others safe.

GLA Group Press Officer Numbers

Shaun Bailey: How many press officers has the GLA Group employed each year since May 2016? Please give a breakdown by organisation.

The Mayor: The number of press officers employed in the GLA Group since May 2016 are:
GLA
May 2016 to April 2017: 22
May 2017 to April 2018: 23
May 2018 to April 2019: 25
May 2019 to April 2020: 25
These are employed in both the Assembly Secretariat and in the Mayor's Press Office.
LFB
May 2016 to April 2017: 6
May 2017 to April 2018: 6
May 2018 to April 2019: 6
May 2019 to April 2020: 6
LLDC
May 2016 to April 2017: 3
May 2017 to April 2018: 3
May 2018 to April 2019: 3
May 2019 to April 2020: 3
MOPAC & OPDC
MOPAC and OPDC do not employ press officers. Their press and media services are provided by the Mayor’s Press Office at the GLA.
MPS
May 2016 to April 2017: 32
May 2017 to April 2018: 35
May 2018 to April 2019: 36
May 2019 to April 2020: 32
TfL
May 2016 to April 2017: 32.6
May 2017 to April 2018: 30.6
May 2018 to April 2019: 29.6
May 2019 to April 2020: 25.6

Purchase of Empress State Building

Susan Hall: Since your £250m purchase of the Empress State Building in Hammersmith & Fulham and the disposal of other buildings, how much money has been freed up to support front-line policing?

The Mayor: Empress State Building was purchased in March 2018. Capital receipts from the disposal of sites used to re-invest in front line policing since then are
2018/19 £4,678,000
2019/20 £12,025,000
2020/21 year to Jan 2021 £35,906,000

GLA IT Spending

Shaun Bailey: How much money has been spent on GLA IT since the start of the pandemic and how does this compare to pre-covid spending?

The Mayor: As there is no clearly-defined ‘start’ of the Covid-19 pandemic, below please see GLA IT expenditure from 1 April 2020 – 26 February 2021, and then for comparison the entirety of 2019-20.
2019/20
2020/21*
£4,381,435
£3,344,788
*To 26 February 2021

Job Creation

Shaun Bailey: How many jobs have you created through different schemes in each London borough since you became Mayor?

The Mayor: The figures below are estimates of jobs that can be directly attributed to listed Mayoral schemes and initiatives by scheme and year.
You have asked for the funding committed to each job creation scheme. In these schemes job creation is only one outcome of programme funding and therefore it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the job creation schemes.
It has not been possible to provide a borough breakdown of the job outcomes. Postcode information is not routinely collected across all schemes and analysis of this is not currently available where this does exist. It would require significant resources across the GLA Group to collate and analyse this data, which is why it has not been provided here.
The programmes are likely to have a wider impact on job creation, such as through putting in place infrastructure and other foundational arrangements that encourage new businesses to be established and enable existing business to grow.
There are also programmes that support the Mayor’s strategic objectives to promote the right conditions for good growth across the capital and the creation of jobs, not described here.
Job Creation Data Table
Programme
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
TOTAL
London and Partners (1)
10,112
11,868
4,455
3,549
2,796
32,780
Film London
4185
5709
6527
12118
2016
30555
LEAP (2)
177 (3)
84
3720
2705
3946
10,632
ESF (4)
8877
ERDF (5)
-
-
-
-
3802
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Job Starts
875
911
1027
426
3239
Growing Places Fund (6)
9
382
2003
324
2718
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Apprenticeships
366
416
521
619
206
2128
Mayor's Regeneration Fund (7)
126
125
409
660
TfL Construction Skills Programme
258
280
538
High Streets Fund (8)
22
84
65
1
172
MedCity (9)
39
10
14
25
13 (6)
101
Royal Docks (10)
15 (7)
Notes
(1) In 2012/19 London and Partners stopped recording jobs created in the leisure/ tourism industry, which accounted for 2000-3000 jobs in previous years' figures. The strategic focus also shifted to high-value jobs, creating fewer but more valuable jobs.
(2) LEAP projects will continue to deliver over the coming years, so we also anticipate that further job creation will be reported for LEAP investments as these projects progress and complete. These figures include all LEAP funded programmes- Good Growth Fun, Skills for London Fund and others. This data runs to the end of February 2021.
(3) The jobs figureincludes data from the 2015/16 financial year, which it is not possible to exclude due to the way it was reported historically
(4) The ESF figures run up to June 2020. It is not possible to provide an annual breakdown due to the way that data is reported
(5) It is not possible to provide an annual breakdown due to the way that data is reported
(6) This data runs to the end of March 2020
(7) This data run to the end of February 2021
(8) This programme ran from 2012 to 2014
(9) The figures for 2020/21 are provisional
(10) This figure replaces forecasted data submitted as part of MQ 2020/2468, which stated that 24 jobs were created.

Coronavirus hate crimes

Unmesh Desai: If possible, please provide a breakdown, by month, of how many hate crimes have been related to Covid-19 breaches since March 2020.

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information.

The Mayor: 1085_Coronavirus hate crimes.xlsx

IA 16760

Keith Prince: Please provide me a copy of IA 16760 “Surface Transport Health and Safety Competence Management” published on 14 October 2016.

The Mayor: Please find attached Internal Audit Report IA 16 760

The Mayor: 0532 attachment.pdf

MPS Objection

Tony Devenish: I understand that the MPS have objected to Hammersmith and Fulham Council disbanding Independent Advisory Groups and Ward Panels, please can you provide me with a copy of that objection?

The Mayor: The Hammersmith and Fulham Policing and Crime Commission recommended that the Independent Advisory Group be retained, and that Ward Panels be disbanded. The Metropolitan Police Service’s response to the Commission's recommendations were published as part of the local authority’s report to the Hammersmith and Fulham Community Safety and Environment Policy and Accountability Committee in September 2020. The report can be found here: http://democracy.lbhf.gov.uk/documents/s114409/CSE%20PAC%20PCC%20Report%2016.09.20.pdf

Cuckooing

Unmesh Desai: How many reports of cuckooing have there been since the cuckooing flag was added to the crime reporting system? Please provide this information by month if possible.

The Mayor: Please see attached document containing table below for the number of cuckooing offences recorded by the Met between April 2019 and March 2021.

The Mayor: 1088_Cuckooing.xlsx

Cuckooing National Referral Mechanism

Unmesh Desai: How many incidents flagged for cuckooing resulted in a referral to the National Referral Mechanism?

The Mayor: The MPS do not have information on this and are therefore unable to answer this question.

Croydon Tram Crash: Timing of Inquest

Keith Prince: For the period January 2020 to the present, please provide me with all TfL correspondence (internal and external) detailing the arguments used by TfL to justify the postponement of the Inquest until after the Mayoral election in May 2021.

The Mayor: The listing of the Inquest has been determined solely by the Senior Coroner. Transport for London had no role in this decision and therefore did not make any arguments “to justify the postponement of the Inquest until after the Mayoral election in May 2021”. The Senior Coroner wrote to all interested persons on 4 November 2020 confirming that the Inquests due to commence on 16 November 2020 would not go ahead but instead would be heard in spring 2021, not before 1 March.This was due to the national lockdown that commenced on 5 November 2020.The Senior Coroner requested all parties’ advocates to send their dates to avoid between 1 March and 30 June 2021.Having received information as to availability from all parties’ advocates, the Senior Coroner wrote on 20 November 2020 confirming that the Inquests would commence on 17 May 2021.

Online portal for victims of crime

Susan Hall: Since your £44m investment in 2018 to make London a safe place for women & girls, how successful has the online portal for victims of crime & to facilitate the study into rape cases from the victim’s perspective been?

The Mayor: Please see the response to 0612 regarding what the £44m investment has achieved.
The online directory of services and the study into rape cases were two separate commitments in the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
The online portal for victims of crime is accessible through the London Victim and Witness Service website. It went live on 6th November 2020 and can be found here: https://www.londonvws.org.uk/directory. As of 31st Jan 2021, there have been 134 unique visits to the page. Further work to expand and promote the directory, and to collect user feedback on its use, is underway.
The study into rape cases culminated in the London Rape Review which can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/rape_review_-_final_-_web.pdf. This review, led by London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, remains the most extensive review into rape cases ever conducted. It offers us the clearest picture to date as to why so few cases are making it to court and the evidence gathered has directly informed the Government’s work on rape.

Investigation lengths

Susan Hall: What is the current average length of an investigation for the following crime types:
. Homicide
. Rape
. Other Sexual Offences
. Robbery
. Hate Crime

The Mayor: The table below shows the average investigation length for Homicide, Rape, Other Sexual Offences, Robbery, Hate Crime defined as the difference between the date the crime was recorded and the closing date of the investigation.

Proposed London Boundary Charge

Caroline Pidgeon: Has TfL obtained any legal advice on whether under the 1999 GLA Act (as amended) there is the potential without primary legislation to introduce a greater London boundary charge for vehicles entering London.If legal advice exists that such a charge could legally be introduced without primary legislation, please set out the statutory requirements for consultation and other measures that would need to be taken before such a scheme could be introduced.

The Mayor: Transport for London and the Mayor have broad road user charging powers under the GLA Act 1999 which enable a new charging scheme such as the potential Greater London Boundary Charge to be established. Preliminary legal advice has been provided on the initial proposal and more detailed advice will be sought and reflected in the feasibility study that I have asked TfL to undertake. Once I have reviewed the feasibility study that Transport for London has been asked to undertake, I will take a decision on whether to proceed further and legal advice will be sought and provided at every stage of the process.
Any proposal to introduce a new road user charging scheme such as a boundary charge is subject to public consultation in line with the requirements of the GLA Act. As part of the consultation process, the impacts of the proposal are assessed and the findings made available for comment. The proposed scheme is set out in an order which is made by TfL and published alongside other consultation materials. There is a suitable period of consultation of at least 10 weeks for the public and stakeholders to have their say on the proposals.

Overview and Precise Chronology of Covid-19 Risk Reduction Actions taken by Bus Operators

Keith Prince: When will you provide me with the documentation you promised to send me in your 5 October response to Question 2020/2696?

The Mayor: I understand Transport for London sent you this documentation on 4 March 2020.

Car scrappage scheme (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Since the commencement of the car and motorcycle scrappage scheme to help low income and disabled Londoners scrap older and more polluting vehicles, please publish statistics showing separately for both cars and motorcycles (a) how many applications have been received, (b) how many grants have been awarded, (c) how many applications have been refused, (d) how many applications are currently being processed.

The Mayor: On 23 October 2019, I launched my car and motorcycle scrappage fund to help low-income Londoners scrap their older, more polluting vehicles in favour of cleaner vehicles and greener forms of transport to help clean up London’s polluted air. This scheme remains open to new applicants.
The table below sets out the data held by Transport for London (TfL). Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by cars or motorcycles for applications received but TfL can report this data where a grant payment has been made.
The predominant reason applications are rejected is because they are incomplete. “Applications accepted” means that TfL has approved the application. As at 16 February 2021, the total value of applications accepted by TfL is £8.6m.
A grant payment is made when TfL receives evidence that the vehicle has been scrapped. While customers have up to seven months to scrap their vehicles, the average time between acceptance and payment is 36 days.
Scheme - Car & Motorcycle scrappage
Data as at 16/02/2021
(a) Total Applications Received
10,360
(b) Grant payments made/Vehicles scrapped (Cars)
3,758
(b) Grant payments made/Vehicles scrapped (Motorcycles)
26
(c) Total Applications Rejected
4,897
(d) Total Applications Accepted
4,311
(d) Total Applications still to be processed
1,152

Supporting Croydon’s Community (6)

Susan Hall: Following on from your £750,000 of funding in 2018 to help address the long-term repercussions of the Sandilands tram crash, has TfL since provided counselling, rehabilitation, financial compensation, free transport & any other support deemed relevant, to those residents directly affected by the Sandilands tram crash? How effective has the support been and how can this be measured?

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2021/0631.

The Jack Petchey Foundation's School Catch-Up Report

Tony Devenish: Have you read the Jack Petchey Foundation’s School Catch-Up Report and, if so, what measures are you taking to help support young people returning to school based on its findings?

The Mayor: That over 5,000 young people responded to the Jack Petchey survey in ten days shows how concerned they are about the impact of COVID-19. It is vital that this generation gets the help it needs for them to fulfil their potential. At Mayor’s Question Time I called on the Government to commit to long-term support for our most disadvantaged students. Our schools and colleges need more resources to provide lasting catch-up support. Please see Mayor’s Question 2021/1026
The survey respondents said how important one-to-one and small group support is, and highlighted the need for mental health support. The New Deal for Young People mission aims that every young person in need will be entitled to a personal mentor. Many of my Young Londoners Fund projects already provide one-to-one and small group support, and I am pleased to invest £1m more towards mentoring through the latest wave of the London Community Response.
I have written to London’s headteachers about the expansion of the Good Thinking online wellbeing service to 13 to 18 year-olds, and to share some of the latest mental health support and resources. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Mission will be working closely with Good Thinking and Thrive LDN to help ensure young Londoners have what they need to stay mentally well.
This month, Lib Peck, Director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, is meeting with the CEO of the Jack Petchey Foundation, their Youth Trustee and eight young people. They will share the results of their ‘Shaping Our Future survey which asked over 6,000 young people from London and Essex about their experience of the lockdown and what opportunities they want to see for young people in the future.

Supporting Croydon’s Community (4)

Susan Hall: Since your £750,000 of funding in 2018 to assist the Croydon communities affected by the Sandilands tram crash, could you please advise as to whether mental health services & alcohol & substance abuse programmes were introduced in those areas. If so, how helpful have these been in improving the quality of life for local communities? How do you measure this?

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2021/0631.

Supporting Croydon's Community (5)

Susan Hall: Pursuant to your 2018 injection of £750,000 of funding to help alleviate the impact of the Sandilands tram crash on the local community, could you please advise as to whether local healthcare professionals were subsequently trained to better recognise trauma-based presentations in patients. If so, how effective has the training been in assisting victims to come to terms with the tragedy? How are you able to measure this?

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2021/0631.

Supporting Croydon’s Community (2)

Susan Hall: Please outline how your injection of £750,000 of funding in 2018 has, in the ensuing three years, supported health & social services in New Addington & the surrounding community, both of which were directly affected by the Sandilands tram tragedy.

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2021/0631.

Supporting Croydon’s Community (3)

Susan Hall: Further to your £750,00 of funding in 2018 for the communities directly affected by the Sandilands tram tragedy, could you please advise as to whether counselling & resilience programmes for students at nearby schools were subsequently initiated. If so, what is the evidence that they have proved effective?

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2021/0631.

Supporting Croydon’s Community (1)

Susan Hall: Following on from your press release date 12/03/18 and entitled “Mayor approves £750,000 of funding to support Croydon community”, could you please advise as to whether all of the money has been spent. If so, please provide headline figures showing where and when it was spent.

The Mayor: In March 2018, I announced that Transport for London (TfL) would provide £750,000 in support of Croydon Council's community recovery activities. The initial period of three years has been extended to enable Croydon to continue to identify and propose suitable schemes.
TfL has been in continuous contact with London Borough of Croydon to encourage proposals as to how the fund might be spent. No proposals have been declined and TfL stands ready to continue to contribute as and when called upon by London Borough of Croydon. To date TfL has paid £61,000 to Croydon. This relates to the provision of Mental Health First Aider training to primary care givers in Croydon. A further £100,000 is shortly to be paid for further Mental Health First Aider training.
In January 2021, Croydon provided TfL with a plan to spend approximately £400,000 (including the £100,000 in process), which TfL is fully committed to and will fund once they have commenced. The activities include primary care mental health training, Mental Health First Aider and Youth Mental Health First Aider training and trauma informed training. Progress on these initiatives has unfortunately been delayed by the pandemic and the financial issues that Croydon has faced as a result.
London Borough of Croydon would be best placed to advise on the benefits of and measuring the effectiveness of the projects which they have proposed and which have been supported by funding from TfL.

IA 15738 and the Croydon Tram Crash Investigations

Keith Prince: Was Internal Audit 15738 provided to the Croydon Tram Crash Investigators (RAIB, SNC Lavalin, the Police), the ORR and the Coroner? If so, on what dates?

The Mayor: No, a copy of Internal Audit Report IA 15 738 was not provided. This was an audit of the TfL team that managed the maintenance of the track and lineside infrastructure and their management of the safety risks associated with this. It was not an audit of FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.

IA 15738

Keith Prince: Please provide me with a copy of IA 15 738 “Tram Infrastructure Safety Management” published on 18 April 2016.

The Mayor: Please find attached Internal Audit Report IA 15 738 issued on 18 April 2016. Please note that the cover page of the report has the incorrect issue date of 18 April 2018.

The Mayor: 0530 attachment.pdf

IA 16760 and the Croydon Tram Crash Investigations

Keith Prince: Was IA 16760 provided to the Croydon Tram Crash Investigators (RAIB, SNC Lavalin, the Police), the ORR and the Coroner? If so, on what dates?

The Mayor: No, a copy of Internal Audit Report IA 16 760 was not provided. This was an audit of the health and safety training provided to TfL employees in Surface Transport. Trams were not included in the directorates sampled. The audit is not applicable to FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.

PSO Counter Terrorism Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team

Steve O'Connell: Since its creation, how many times has the PSO Counter Terrorism Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (CTUAV) team responded to:
-Deploy drones
-Mitigate a third party drone
(Please provide the data monthly if possible)

The Mayor: I have been informed that the Counter Terrorism team have been deployed 11 times to mitigate against a 3rd party drone in the last twelve months. Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of these operations I am unable to provide any more detail.

Misleading Statement about Croydon Tram Safety Audits

Keith Prince: After TfL had been compelled to publish IA 13744 (“Competence and Fitness of Tram Operations Limited (TOL) Tram Operators”) and IA 17780 (“Management of Fatigue in Tram Operations Limited”), on 26 June 2018 in response to Question 2018/1315 you stated: “There are no other audit reports on this subject.” Yet the existence of IA 16767 (and IA 15738 and IA 16760) appears to show your response was misleading. Your response to Question 2020/4628 suggests you were ignorant of the existence of IA 16767 at the time you responded to Question 2018/1315. Were you similarly ignorant of the existence of IA 15738 and IA 16760 18 months after Sandilands when you responded to Question 2018/1315?

The Mayor: Please refer to my responses to Mayor’s Questions 2020/4094, 2020/4095, 2020/4096, 2020/4097, 2020/4098, 2020/4099, and 2020/4628 regarding IA 16 767.
Please refer to my response to Mayor’s Question 2021/0534 in relation to IA 15 738 and IA 16 760.
IA 15 738 was an audit of the Transport for London (TfL) team that managed the maintenance of the track and lineside infrastructure and their management of the safety risks associated with this. It was not an audit of FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.
IA 16 760 was an audit of the health and safety training provided to TfL employees in Surface Transport. Trams were not included in the directorates sampled. The audit is not applicable to FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.

Adequately Controlled” Conclusions of Safety Audits IA 15738, IA 16760 and IA 16767 shortly before the Sandilands Tragedy

Keith Prince: Do you believe the fact that 3 Safety Audits concerning the Croydon Tram — IA 15738, IA 16760 and IA 16767 —published by TfL before 9 November 2016 each showed the conclusion “Adequately Controlled” suggests that TfL’s Internal Audit Process overseen by TfL’s General Counsel was seriously compromised in the run-up to the Sandilands Crash? Seeing that there have been no changes in that division’s leadership under your watch as TfL Chair, have you ordered any actions since November 2016 that might restore the public’s faith in the accountability and competence of TfL’s Internal Audit processes?

The Mayor: The audit reports you refer to do not give any basis upon which to assert that Transport for London’s (TfL) audit process was “seriously compromised”.
You will note that IA 15 738 was an audit of the TfL team that managed the maintenance of the track and lineside infrastructure and their management of the safety risks associated with this. It was not an audit of FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.
You will also note that IA 16 760 was an audit of the health and safety training provided to TfL employees in Surface Transport. Trams were not included in the directorates sampled. The audit is not applicable to FirstGroup or Tram Operations Ltd.
As previously explained (including in my responses to Mayor’s Questions 2020/4094, 2020/4095, 2020/4096, 2020/4097, 2020/4098, 2020/4099, 2020/4628), IA 16767 was not published by TfL.

London & Partners

Susan Hall: Please detail how, via your work with London & Partners, London’s heritage has been championed as the foundation of many of London’s tourist attractions.

The Mayor: London’s heritage is indeed the foundation of many of the capital’s most popular tourist attractions. Millions of tourists choose to visit the capital for its cultural and heritage offer, with cultural tourists spending £7.3 billion a year before the pandemic, supporting 80,000 jobs in the capital.
London & Partners champion London’s heritage across their leisure tourism activity including the Because I’m A Londoner campaign last summer which featured sites such as The National Gallery. TheVisit London website has a huge variety of heritage and culture content such as a ‘Top Ten Attractions’ which features The Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral and a ‘Historic London’ hub, which promotes Roman London and the Royal Palaces. Together they attract almost a million views in a typical year.

TfL Internal Communication about decision to modify IA 17780 sent on 27 July 2017 between 0801-0928

Keith Prince: Evidence you released in Question 2020/0023 clearly shows that TfL Internal Audit watered down a safety audit that showed serious Fatigue Management problems at the Croydon Tram 7 months after the Sandilands Disaster in order to ‘placate’ TfL’s Tram Operator First Group TOL. Yet, in your response to 2020/4633 you state that further investigation of this decision by TfL’s Internal Audit executives “would not be an appropriate use of public resources”? Will you undertake to explain your response directly to the families of the Sandilands Crash victims?

The Mayor: Please refer to my previous answers on this topic.In terms of the appropriate use of public resources, Transport for London is focusing its resources and efforts on providing every support and assistance that it can to HM Senior Coroner for South London’s Inquest, which is due to commence on 17 May 2021.It is my strong hope that the professional expertise of those with the statutory authority and responsibility for identifying the cause or causes of the tragedy at Sandilands will provide the conclusion that is needed, including all and any information which will assist in preventing such a tragedy happening again.

De-Cluttering Red Routes

Murad Qureshi: What is TfL doing to remove derelict telephone kiosks along its Red Routes like the Edgware Road?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL), like the London boroughs, has limited powers to remove phone kiosks. Phone kiosks can only be removed when phones no longer work, they cause an immediate health and safety risk, or are a nuisance. Court orders may be required to secure their removal.
Following three years of dialogue, in summer 2020, BT worked with TfL to remove 73 kiosks on the TfL Road Network in a joint programme. This work was based upon a grading of around 550 BT telephone kiosks on TfL’s red routes.
TfL still has significant concerns around the remaining phone box estate on its network and is looking into other available removal options, working with many of the London boroughs that share similar concerns.

Ban on Polluting Advertising

Leonie Cooper: Will the Mayor ban the advertisement of the most polluting vehicles on assets owned by any part of the GLA?

The Mayor: Before the coronavirus pandemic, I had asked Transport for London (TfL) to look into how we could restrict the advertising of the most polluting vehicles. This work was put on hold due to the current pandemic and also a major reduction in advertising on the network.
As the advertising market continues to recover, I will ask TfL to look at this again to see if there are any further practical policy steps that can be taken.

Section 60s issued in 2019

Siân Berry: With reference to your answer to question 2020/1939 where you provided recent monthly data on section 60 authorisations used in each borough, could you provide an updated table with the most recently available monthly figures? Could you also provide a further table, with matching rows and columns, showing the number of borough-wide section 60 authorisations for each borough and month?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested data.

The Mayor: 3325_Section 60s issued in 2019_v4 (2).xlsx

ULEZ Expansion Awareness (1)

Keith Prince: Broken down by borough and for the whole of London, what percentage of Londoners are aware of the upcoming extension of the ULEZ?

The Mayor: The public information campaign to raise awareness of the forthcoming expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), launched on 5 October 2020.Recent polling by the GLA in February 2021 found that 71 per cent of people polled knew at least something about the ULEZ expansion, rising to 92 per cent for people who drive at least monthly in the expanded zone.
We are unable to break the data down by individual borough because the surveys were not designed to do this and the sample size would not be statistically robust.

Violent Crime (2)

Leonie Cooper: What are the latest statistics on violent crime in Merton?

The Mayor: The latest recorded violent crime offences by London borough can be found within the below published MPS dashboards:
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard/
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/hate-crime-dashboard/

Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit (1)

Susan Hall: Can you provide a month-by-month breakdown of the number of enquiries both received and dealt with by the Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit since the start of the pandemic, including a breakdown of format - email, phone calls, webform etc?

The Mayor: The Public Liaison Unit (PLU) received and dealt with over 114,000 pieces of correspondence from the start of the pandemic in January 2020 to January 2021. PLU Officers review every piece of correspondence received to make sure it is dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner.
A table is attached that shows monthly volumes over this period for emails received via [emailprotected] and enquiries via the contact us form on the London.gov website (these cannot be separated), letters (post) sent to City Hall and phone calls taken by the PLU.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated remote working, the decision to close PLU phone lines was taken on 25 March 2020. The PLU takes customer service calls rather than enquiries regarding critical service provision and call volumes were relatively low. Therefore, Londoners are currently being directed to the contact us form on the London.gov website. Post to City Hall is checked periodically.

The Mayor: 0609.1.xlsx

Deep Cleaning TfL Transport

Tony Devenish: Will you commit to retain the Covid level of cleaning in the tube and bus network post Covid which has been commented upon favourably by Londoners and may drive footfall back to the network once this pandemic is over?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is committed to maintaining a clean and orderly network at all times. As you rightly point out, TfL’s cleaning regime across all its services has been enhanced in response to the pandemic. The effectiveness of the enhanced regime in keeping public transport, in particular the Tube and bus networks, free of coronavirus has and will continue to be verified through independent research undertaken each month on TfL’s behalf by researchers from Imperial College.
TfL has no plans to remove the enhanced cleaning regime at the current time. It will keep the situation under review, taking into account the public health situation and any guidance from the Government and Public Health England. The safety of customers and staff remains TfL’s overriding priority.

TfL Organisation Charts

Tony Devenish: Please provide the latest TfL organisation charts (from senior manager upwards), including names as well as job titles.

The Mayor: ​​​Please see attached Transport for London’s latest senior manager organisational chart.

The Mayor: 0754 attachement.pdf

Reduction in Operating Hours of Tube Stations

Tony Devenish: Are the Tube stations you have closed at weekends and at certain times during Covid in danger of reduced hours of operation post Covid?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) intends to operate a full service once the impact of coronavirus has receded.
TfL currently operates as many stations on full hours as staff availability allows and has done so throughout the pandemic while managing the impact of coronavirus on its workforce. TfL always prioritises staff and customer safety and therefore mandates that staff self-isolate according to government guidance when they have coronavirus symptoms or if they are clinically extremely vulnerable. TfL also provides testing facilities to reduce the time it takes for staff to return to work.
This means TfL does not always have the staff available to reach the mandated minimum numbers set out by fire regulations and must therefore close certain stations. Where possible, TfL prioritises keeping open stations which are in critical locations across London – for example, those close to hospitals, major education centres, and vaccination centres.

Blue Badge Holders (1)

Keith Prince: In the light of the Streetspace High Court ruling, how does the Mayor plan to uphold the rights of blue badge holders?

The Mayor: Accessibility is a key decision-making and design consideration in all schemes and all TfL schemes are informed by an equality impact assessment, which identifies impacts (and mitigations) on people with protected characteristics, including those with accessibility needs.
On the TLRN, TfL has ensured that Blue Badge parking bays are maintained wherever possible and remain available exclusively for Blue Badge holders. In addition, Blue Badge holders can apply for a 100 per cent discount for the Congestion Charge for up to two vehicles they use, even if they don't own a vehicle or drive.
TfL will continue to engage with its Independent Disability Advisory Group and key accessibility stakeholders as plans are developed and delivered. For temporary schemes, TfL and boroughs can and will make appropriate changes quickly where they are not working as intended.

Taxi and Private Hire & Covid-19

Murad Qureshi: How many coronavirus fatalities have we had amongst black cab drivers and drivers of Private Hire Vehicles?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) in unable to report on the number of taxi or private hire drivers who have died from coronavirus. Drivers are not employed by TfL, and TfL will only learn of the death of a licensee if it is contacted by next of kin or from media reports. Every single death is a tragic loss and our thoughts are with the family and friends of those drivers.
I am aware, from data produced by the Office for National Statistics and Public Health England, that, sadly, taxi and private hire drivers are more at risk of coronavirus deaths than other transport workers.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, TfL has been working to understand the impact of the crisis on the taxi and private hire industries and has put in place measures to help them wherever possible.
Since December, TfL has been distributing a supply of 1.5 million face masks and 30,000 bottles of Dettol hand sanitiser to taxi and private hire drivers, as well as stickers to licensees reassuring passengers that their driver is ‘coronavirus prepared’.
TfL has also met regularly with trade representatives to understand their concerns and has published numerous regulatory notices containing advice and guidance on the safe operation of services and where to access financial support and health and wellbeing services.
TfL and I will continue to do what we can to help London’s taxi and private hire trades recover during these difficult times.

Job Creation

Shaun Bailey: How many jobs have you created each year through mayoral schemes and initiatives since May 2016? Please give a breakdown of the number of jobs created each year and the amount of annual mayoral funding per scheme.

The Mayor: The figures below are estimates of jobs that can be directly attributed to listed Mayoral schemes and initiatives by scheme and year.
You have asked for the funding committed to each job creation scheme. In these schemes job creation is only one outcome of programme funding and therefore it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the job creation schemes.
The programmes are likely to have a wider impact on job creation, such as through putting in place infrastructure and other foundational arrangements that encourage new businesses to be established and enable existing business to grow.
There are also programmes that support the Mayor’s strategic objectives to promote the right conditions for good growth across the capital and the creation of jobs, not described here.
Job Creation Data Table
Programme
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
TOTAL
London and Partners (1)
10,112
11,868
4,455
3,549
2,796
32,780
Film London
4185
5709
6527
12118
2016
30555
LEAP (2)
177 (3)
84
3720
2705
3622
10,308
ESF (4)
8877
ERDF (5)
-
-
-
-
3802
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Job Starts
875
911
1027
426
3239
Growing Places Fund (6)
9
382
2003
324
2718
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Apprenticeships
366
416
521
619
206
2128
Mayor's Regeneration Fund (7)
126
125
409
660
TfL Construction Skills Programme
258
280
538
High Streets Fund (8)
22
84
65
1
172
MedCity (9)
39
10
14
25
13 (6)
101
Royal Docks (10)
15 (7)
Notes
(1) In 2012/19 London and Partners stopped recording jobs created in the leisure/ tourism industry, which accounted for 2000-3000 jobs in previous years' figures. The strategic focus also shifted to high-value jobs, creating fewer but more valuable jobs.
(2) LEAP projects will continue to deliver over the coming years, so we also anticipate that further job creation will be reported for LEAP investments as these projects progress and complete. These figures include all LEAP funded programmes- Good Growth Fun, Skills for London Fund and others. This data runs to the end of February 2021.
(3) The jobs figureincludes data from the 2015/16 financial year, which it is not possible to exclude due to the way it was reported historically
(4) The ESF figures run up to June 2020. It is not possible to provide an annual breakdown due to the way that data is reported
(5) It is not possible to provide an annual breakdown due to the way that data is reported
(6) This data runs to the end of March 2020
(7) This data run to the end of February 2021
(8) This programme ran from 2012 to 2014
(9) The figures for 2020/21 are provisional
(10) This figure replaces forecasted data submitted as part of MQ 2020/2468, which stated that 24 jobs were created.

High Court Streetspace Judgement

Keith Prince: In her recent High Court judgment on Streetspace, the judge referred to taxis as a form of public transport. Will the Mayor now confirm his target of 80% trips by foot, bicycle or public transport by 2041 includes taxis?

The Mayor: My Transport Strategy is focused on reducing Londoner's use of cars in favour of walking, cycling and public transport use. The 80 per cent mode share does not include cars, Private Hire Vehicles (PHV) or taxis.
Taxis and PHVs have an important role to play in London’s transport network, particularly in terms of accessibility, but cars are inefficient users of road space, whether they are privately owned or shared and however they are powered.
This does not limit the ability of the taxi trade to provide the ‘safe, secure, accessible world-class taxi and private hire service’ envisaged by my transport strategy.

2019 TPH Journey-Related Sexual Offences

Keith Prince: Why has the Mayor failed to publish 2019 TPH journey-related sexual offences?

The Mayor: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019 Taxi Private Hire journey-related sexual offence data publication has regrettably been delayed and will be published on Transport for London’s website in spring 2021. The data for the 2020 publication is scheduled for later this year.

Key Worker ULEZ Exemptions (2)

Shaun Bailey: Which key workers are exempt from ULEZ whilst off duty?

The Mayor: Please see response to question 2021/0579.

Revenue Raised by Your Congestion Charge Increase

Shaun Bailey: How much additional revenue will be raised due to the increase in the Congestion Charge?

The Mayor: As a consequence of the increase in the Congestion Charge and other temporary changes imposed by the Government in the TfL funding agreement, the actual net revenue from 22 June to end February 2021 was £106 million.
Transport for London (TfL) forecasts show that the expected net budgeted revenue for the Congestion Charge as a whole is £232 million for this financial year. Within that, the net revenue TfL forecasts it will receive as a consequence of implementing the temporary changes to the Congestion Charge imposed by the Government, if they were to be in place for the rest of the financial year, is £113 million. This takes into account the increased cost to TfL of operating the scheme as well as the reduction in traffic volumes and temporary suspension due to the pandemic.

Richmond Gardens NW4

Andrew Dismore: Residents of Richmond Gardens have written to TfL, calling on them to install a road sign at the junction on the left approach to Richmond Gardens from Watford Way, however this has been rejected without explanation.
Residents report numerous accidents in recent months as drivers do not slow down and anticipate there is a turning into Richmond Gardens. In addition, since TfL removed a fence in 2006, pedestrians cross right at the corner, meaning drivers have to slow down or even stop on the corner of a dual carriageway. This is extremely dangerous, so will you ask TfL to look into it?

The Mayor: Thank you for this information. A Transport for London road safety engineer and assets operative carried a further review of this location during the week commencing 22 February and I have asked that you are kept updated.

London Living Wage

Caroline Pidgeon: Further to data provided in response to Question 2015/3961 please provide the most recent data for both the total number and proportion of jobs in Greater London paying less than the London Living Wage since the GLA first set the London Living Wage in 2005?

The Mayor: In 2020 the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reported that 780,000 or 19.5 per cent of employee jobs pay below the London Living Wage, see the attached table.
The overall proportion of employee jobs paid below the Living Wage in London is below the UK average. Since 2012, however, London has experienced a more pronounced increase in employee jobs paid below the Living Wage than the UK.
The factors behind this include the lower rate of employee pay growth in London than elsewhere in recent years, particularly for lower paid workers. At the same time the London Living Wage has risen faster than inflation and average earnings.
London’s higher Living Wage rate (and higher average earnings) also mean that increases to the ‘National Living Wage’ (and the ‘ripple’ effects for workers higher up the wage distribution) have less of a downward effect on the proportion of employee jobs paid below the Living Wage in the capital than in other parts of the country.

The Mayor: MQ.London Living Wage.Data table (1).redraftF.docx

Safety of women & girls in London (3)

Susan Hall: By how much has your £44m funding to make London safe for women & girls reduced the number of women & girls raped or sexually assaulted in each of the capital’s 32 boroughs every week (reported to be 11 women & girls each week in 2018)? Please provide current data.

The Mayor: Since 2018 £13m has been spent on supporting victims of sexual violence via the Rape Crisis Centres, Havens and other specialist services. Unfortunately, this type of crime is very under reported and we continue to see increased volumes approaching services as we encourage victims/survivors to come forward.
I am committed to doing all I can to support victims and survivors and that is why a significant portion of my £15m VAWG fund went to supporting sexual violence services to improve provision. It is equally important to tackle the root causes of these horrific crimes and that is why I continue to lobby government and have invested in prevention programmes such as the Whole Schools Approach pilot in Croydon.
Please see the attached table for weekly averages by borough for total sexual offences.

The Mayor: 0614_Safety of women & girls in London.xlsx

Domestic Abuse

Susan Hall: By how much has your £44m funding reduced domestic abuse since its launch in 2018 (reported to account for a tenth of the crimes reported to the MPS in 2018)? Please provide current data.

The Mayor: Please see the attached table for offence data.
I am committed to doing all I can to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse (DA). That is why, since 2018, I have invested over £8m in pan-London DA services; a further £5m in specialist DA services through my £15m VAWG Fund and, in 2020, provided an additional £1.5m for emergency accommodation and wraparound support for victims fleeing domestic abuse in response to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, this type of crime remains very under-reported, and I continue to work with the MPS and other partners to encourage victims/survivors to come forward.
It is essential to support survivors, but we must also address perpetrators’ behaviour and prevent offences and victimisation occurring in the first place and that is why I have invested over £4m since 2018 in programmes to tackle domestic abuse perpetrators.

The Mayor: 0615_Domestic Abuse (1).xlsx

Sexism & Misogyny in London

Susan Hall: What is the evidence that your campaign launched in 2018 to tackle attitudes of everyday sexism & misogyny has been successful? Please provide examples.

The Mayor: I launched the #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign in 2018 to mark the centenary of the first women in the UK winning the right to vote and to establish City Hall as a beacon for gender equality, encouraging Londoners and London’s businesses and organisations to act similarly.
The campaign successfully engaged millions of Londoners on this important issue. The content we produced over the year received over 18 million views across social media. Over 3,000 people attended the unveiling of historic Millicent Fawcett’s statue. That moment alone drove over 4,350 media articles, 2,500 campaign mentions on social media, and 19,500 views of the video content, ensuring the history of suffrage was better understood and that key messages around the need to address gender inequality and increase representation landed with large numbers of diverse audiences.
Because the campaign was about engaging partners across London in creating this change, we worked with over 170 key partners and public figures. This included Arts and Cultural, Technology, Science, Sport, Public Sector, Charity, Creative, Media and Advertising, Education, Fashion, Financial, Retail, TV and Music. A wide range of valuable partnerships were delivered through the campaign, including partnerships with Google Arts and Culture, Bloomberg, Wikimedia Foundation UK, Wikipedia, The FA, British Athletics, Chelsea FC Women, England Netball, England Hockey, London Sport, Athletics World Cup, Exterion, JC Decaux, UCL, Red Box, Allbright, The Ambassador Theatre Group, The Old Vic, Tate Collective, Southbank Centre, Westfields, the Fawcett Society.
The campaign has delivered multiple legacies, that continue to tackle gender inequality issues. Highlights include:
On the issue of period poverty, the campaign has also been able to help drive real world change. Activist, Amika George, launched a legal campaign for free menstrual products to be provided in schools, citing the research City Hall released on World Menstrual Hygiene Day, outlining the scale of period poverty experienced by young women in London. Since the campaign launched, it has since been announced the Government will provide free menstrual products to English secondary schools.
Finally, the campaign launched the TfL Diversity in Advertising competition. Informed by research undertaken by UCL, this set out to tackle everyday sexism by challenging the way women were being represented in Out of Home advertising. The inaugural competition was successful resulted in over 90 entries from major brands and high-profile advertising agencies. The winning Holland & Barratt’s Me.No.Pause, and runner up, Mothercare’s #BodyProudMums entries, generated significant interest amongst Londoners. Over the last three years this competition has continued to challenge both brands and advertising agencies so that Londoners feel they are represented in the advertising they see as they travel around the city.

Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit (2)

Susan Hall: What is the current budget/cost of the Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit, and can you provide the figures for the last 3 years?

The Mayor: The budget for the Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit (PLU) for the current financial year (1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021) is £602,000 and the cost from 1 April 2020 to date is £498,862.87.
For financial year 2019/20, the budget was £595,000 and the cost was £645,093.98.
For financial year 2018/19, the budget was £569,000 and the cost was £617,330.47.
For financial year 2017/18, the budget was £532,000 and the cost was £562,421.99.
Overspend in financial years 2019/20, 2018/19 and 2017/18 can be attributed to staffing, including maternity leave, paternity leave and sickness leave costs and temporary staff costs.

Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit (3)

Susan Hall: How many staff work in the Mayor’s Public Liaison Unit, and can you provide the figures for the last 3 years?

The Mayor: There are currently 13 staff in the Public Liaison Unit (PLU) which supports the Greater London Authority, including the London Assembly. Last financial year (2019-20), there were 13 staff and in financial year 2018-19, there were 14 staff.

Safety of women & girls in London (1)

Susan Hall: With reference to your mayoral press release on 09.03.18 entitled “Mayor’s record £44m commitment to make London safe for women & girls”, could you please advise as to whether all of the money has since been spent? If so, please provide headline figures showing where & when it was spent.

The Mayor: My £44m investment has funded a range of services and programmes. Since 2018, £13m was spent on supporting victims of sexual violence through specialist services, and over £8m on pan-London Domestic Abuse services. I have invested over £7m in programmes tackling stalking and domestic abuse perpetrators; £5m on services to divert women away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate support; and over £800,000 on awareness raising and prevention programmes. In addition, via the London Crime Prevention Fund and the Small Grants Fund I have provided over £9m to London boroughs and specialist grassroots VAWG agencies.
In 2019, I announced a further £15m investment in critical VAWG services through the Mayor’s VAWG Fund. In 2020, I provided an additional £1.5m for emergency accommodation and wraparound support for victims fleeing domestic abuse during the pandemic and have leveraged substantial funding from Government for a range of VAWG services.

Safety of women & girls in London (2)

Susan Hall: With reference to your mayoral press release on 09.03.18 entitled “Mayor’s record £44m commitment to make London safe for women & girls”, could you please outline how your aim to tackle violence against women & girls & also misogynistic attitudes has been achieved to date, by your £44m investment up to 2020?

The Mayor: I have delivered London’s most comprehensive Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, seeking to tackle these societal issues by working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, focusing on prevention, tackling perpetrators and protecting and supporting victims of VAWG. I remain committed to this issue and whilst significant progress has been made there is still more to be done and that is why I continue to lobby government, including on the development of their own VAWG Strategy and to seek much needed changes to the Domestic Abuse Bill currently going through Parliament.
Please see the response to 0612 regarding what the £44m investment has achieved.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Streetspace and the London Risk Register

David Kurten: As you will be aware, the London Risk Register provides a summary of the main risks affecting Greater London. The last online version published in February 2020 was prior to TfL’s Streetspace for London programme and the extensive roll out of so-called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN)1. As these are contributing, causing traffic gridlock and thus hindering and possibly delaying emergency service responses, has an evaluation of the risks been undertaken. If so, will you make this available?

1https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_risk_register_v9.pdf

The Mayor: The impact of traffic affecting emergency services is not a risk on, or for, the London Risk Register.
TfL continues to work with the emergency services and boroughs to resolve any local issues that arise.
Please also see my answer to your question Mayor’s Question 2021/0409.

Naloxone

Andrew Boff: The National Police Chiefs Council’s drugs lead, Jason Harwin has backed police officers carrying overdose antidote naloxone, stating “one of the core responsibilities of the police service is to save life”. Are there any plans for the Met to roll this out to their officers?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Central Drugs Team have been engaging with partners to identify any potential benefits that the carriage of Naloxone by operational MPS officers could bring for public safety.
There are currently no plans to roll this out but the MPS are monitoring the West Midlands trial which is currently taking place.

Boundary Charge (4)

Keith Prince: On a daily basis, how many nurses, teachers, cleaners, carers and Police Officers drive to work in London from outside the Greater London boundary?

The Mayor: Neither Transport for London (TfL) nor the Greater London Authority (GLA) have access to data to readily answer this question. However, as part of the feasibility study into a potential Greater London Boundary Charge for non-residents, that I have asked TfL to undertake, TfL will carry out a assessments of the impact of options on traffic, the environment, health, equality and the economy, including the impact on commuters living outside of London. The full findings of the study are expected later in the year.

Boundary Charge (3)

Keith Prince: How many jobs in London are performed by people living outside London without decent alternatives to driving to get to and from work?

The Mayor: Neither Transport for London (TfL) nor the Greater London Authority (GLA) have access to data to readily answer the question of how many jobs in London are performed by people living outside London “without decent alternatives to driving”. However, as part of the feasibility study into a potential Greater London Boundary Charge for non-residents that I have asked TfL to undertake, TfL will carry out assessments of the impact of options on traffic, the environment, health, equality and the economy, including the impact on commuters living outside of London. The full findings of the study are expected later in the year.

Police Recruitment

Peter Whittle: What is the current Metropolitan Police non-white recruitment target?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has the ambitious aim of 30% of recruits to be from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background from April 2021. The aim is to increase this to 40% of recruits from April 2022.

Covid-19 Fixed Penalty Notice breakdown by borough

Unmesh Desai: Please provide the number of fixed penalty notices sent to ACRO for approval by the MPS and arrests where offences related to Health Protection Regulations (2020), and/or was a feature of another offence, by borough. Borough data for these offences is not available on the Met Covid-19 dashboard. Please also provide a demographic breakdown of the Fixed Penalty Notices and Arrests if possible.

The Mayor: The only data currently available in relation to FPNs and arrests is as published via the MPS COVID-19 dashboard: https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/covid-19-dashboard/

Diversity and Inclusion (1)

Peter Whittle: How many Diversity and Inclusion advisers does the Metropolitan Police currently employ?

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) employees who have the words ‘equality, diversity or inclusion’ in their job title broken down by pay grade:
Rank/Band
Number
Broadband 3
1
Band A
1
Band B
4
Band C
13
Band D
2
Band E
3
Band S
1
Chief Superintendent
2
Chief Inspector
1
Inspector
5
Sergeant
5
Constable
4
Grand Total
42

Operation Midland

Peter Whittle: Is there anything about Operation Midland (the Metropolitan Police investigation into Carl Beech’s bogus claims about a VIP paedophile ring) that you think could have been handled differently?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has stated on a number of occasions it is truly sorry for the harm caused by the mistakes made in Operation Midland.
The Henriques Review, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation and the follow up review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) led to a number of recommendations for the MPS. This work led to significant changes to policy and practice to ensure that similar mistakes can never be made again.
The MPS have improved the way they approach vulnerable victims and complainants and radically improved how officers apply for search warrants in terms of training, supervision, practice and audit.

Special Privileges for Taxi Drivers

Keith Prince: Given your manifesto promise to ensure “special privileges” for licensed London taxi drivers, why did you remove taxi drivers from consideration as public transport in your Transport Strategy?

The Mayor: My Transport Strategy states that taxis are an important mode of transport that provide an accessible, door-to-door service for Londoners and visitors, and that’s why Policy 20 of my Transport Strategy seeks to ensure London has a safe, secure and accessible world-class taxi service.
Policy 1 of my Transport Strategy sets out my aim for 80 per cent of trips in London to be made by walking, cycling or public transport by 2041 and it would be inappropriate for taxis to be included in this target for the reasons set out in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/4623.
My Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan sets out a range of actions that have been delivered by Transport for London (TfL) to support the industry, including the provision of more taxi ranks, access to the majority of bus lanes, taxi-dedicated rapid charge points and the taxi delicensing scheme.
I also recognise the detrimental effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on taxi and private hire drivers in terms of both their personal health and wellbeing and the financial losses they have suffered. This is why TfL and I have taken a range of measures to help support taxi and private hire drivers in London as detailed in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/4262.

Body worn video

Jennette Arnold: What sanctions are in place if an officer is found to be contravening the College of Police Guidance on the use of Body Worn Video (BWV)?

The Mayor: The Met monitor the use of force at a London-wide level, through to an individual basis. MOPAC also oversees the use data. BWV is provided to all frontline officers and high levels of usage is achieved with 95% of stops recorded. Officers recognise the host of benefits that BWV brings to the public and to the police. The use of BWV can be broken down to individual officers and low use is identified and investigated. This may identify an issue such as training, or confidence which can all be dealt with. If a disciplinary issue is identified it will be dealt with appropriately. However, there will also be many legitimate reasons why an officer may not use BWV.

Catalytic converter thefts [3]

Andrew Dismore: Do you have a ward breakdown of Catalytic converter thefts in Barnet over the last year? If so will you make it available?

The Mayor: The table below shows catalytic converter thefts in each ward in Barnet over the last year.
To tackle this issue, the MPS is taking part in discussions to develop a national crime profile and is liaising with the car industry to roll out a marking scheme for catalytic converters.
Ialso highlighted the important role the industry needs to plan in addressing catalytic converter theft in my recent letter to Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In this letter Iset outmy concerns about the increase in catalytic converter theft and asked the Society to work with the MetropolitanPoliceService (MPS)to tackle the problem.

Catalytic converter thefts [2]

Andrew Dismore: What action is being taken to deal with catalytic converter thefts in Edgware and Burnt Oak, and what advice are you giving to residents to improve the security of their cars?

The Mayor: During the pandemic we have seen a change in modus operandi in relation to catalytic converter theft and have seen higher increases in offences in locations which have better road networks including Edgware and Burnt Oak.
As part of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) response to the ongoing issue across London, the MPS is organising an enhanced week of action between 19 and 25 April, overseen by the Superintendent Lead for Vehicle Crime, to raise awareness and provide enhanced crime prevention advice to victims, including advice in marking replacement catalytic converter with a theft deterrent marking system. Edgware and Burnt Oak will be included in this week of action.
I also recently wrote to the Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), to highlight my concerns about the increase in catalytic converter theft and ask the Society to work with the MPS to tackle this problem.

County lines awareness raising

Unmesh Desai: Please provide details of any awareness raising programmes the MOPAC or the Met have funded relating to county lines.

The Mayor: Rescue and Response is a City Hall funded pan-London service which has been running since 2018 to support children and young people exploited through county lines activity. Awareness raising is a key element of the programme, upskilling front line professionals across London, through comprehensive training, to better identify and divert young people away from this kind of exploitation. Through Abianda, one of the Rescue and Response delivery partners, the programme is currently working with a range of statutory agencies and voluntary sector partners to enable them to better identify girls and young women at risk of exploitation through county lines activity.
Rescue and Response also works closely with the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to analyse trends and themes around county lines, raising awareness of London specific activity.

Blue light collaboration

Andrew Dismore: The collaboration between LAS and LFB has been one of the positives of the pandemic, highlighting the ability of emergency services to work together to support the public. However this has come at a price to LFB. How are you working with the LFC to ensure these issues will not be repeated in any further collaboration between other blue-light services and the LFB?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) would normally plan and structure collaboration initiatives so that financial impacts and efficiency opportunities are identified and addressed from the outset. However, the circumstances in which LFB has been providing support to the London Ambulance Service (LAS) during the pandemic have been exceptional and unprecedented.I am hugely proud of the way the Brigade went above and beyond in its contribution to the response to the pandemic. Should the Brigade find itself in similar exceptional circumstances at any point in the future, consideration of the financing arrangements will be made as soon as it is practical to do so and the most recent Ambulance Driver Assist work has been carried out on the basis of cost recovery.The Brigade has recently submitted a claim for the costs of the COVID response to the Home Office and I know the Assembly Member will join my calls to the Minister to ensure that the willingness of the Brigade to respond will not impact its financial position.

Mayor’s Action Plan for improving transparency, accountability and trust in policing (1)

Siân Berry: Your new Action Plan says: “London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, will launch a new consultation with Black women and the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition to understand their specific needs and experiences. Out of this, any recommendations directed at the wider criminal justice organisations in London will be pursued. This work will begin in November 2020 and will report in early 2021.”
When will this report be available?

The Mayor: London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, has launched a new consultation with Black women alongside the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition to understand their specific needs and experiences, with an event on 21 January 2021. Follow up events are being planned and the outcome of this work will be made available in due course.

Met estate security

Unmesh Desai: Last year a review of security culture across the Met was carried out after breaches by members of the public who walked into buildings without being asked for identification. How confident are you in the security of the Met estate?

The Mayor: The MPS places a priority on the security and safety of its police officers, staff and visitors to its buildings. The Met’s Estate Security is overseen by a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, supported by experts from the Met’s Property Services, Protective Security, Digital Policing and other departments. There is a focus on both the physical and electronic security of buildings as well as the behaviours of all those who work in, or visit, buildings and premises across London.
Physical and electronic security requirements meet agreed national standards and the MPS has invested in electronic security measures, which significantly reduces the risk of unlawful access. These measures are underpinned through local leadership, the training of officers and staff and ongoing testing of security measures. The Met places a significant importance on learning from any security incident or near miss and is constantly reviewing its practices.

Drone use by the Metropolitan Police Service

Siân Berry: Has the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) used drones to monitor gatherings of Londoners in the last twelve months? Could you provide details of the legal basis, safety policies and risk assessments, and the policies for image collection and retention for any such uses.

The Mayor: The Met drones have been deployed for coverage of crime scenes, providing aerial support for pre-planned operations, surveying premises and providing live footage of operational deployments to assist command decision making and therefore support a wider policing plan. However, this has not included monitoring of gatherings of Londoners outside of protest or public order events.
Regarding the legal basis, safety policies and risk assessments; the Met complies with the law, as determined by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The Met has a permission to fly from the CAA and operational deployments comply with strict rules set and governed by the CAA.
With regard to safety policies and risk assessments, the Met use of drones has a comprehensive corporate risk assessment in accordance with the Health & Safely legal framework. This risk assessment is also contained within their Operational Authorisation for deployment from the CAA. All Met pilots have passed a CAA accredited qualification, have completed further extensive training, maintain minimum flight hours to retain pilot flight status, and undertake yearly continued professional development.
With regard to the policies for image collection and retention, any drone data is handled in accordance with existing data handling laws and Met policies. Videos and photographs are retained for the duration of the investigation or as mandated by other relevant legislation or regulations.

Metropolitan Police Service London residency criteria and key worker homes

Siân Berry: As announced in your new policing Action Plan, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS): “will imminently re-introduce the London residency criteria for most new recruits.” Have these criteria now been re-introduced, and what work is your office, MOPAC and the MPS doing specifically to support new affordable homes for key workers including police officers, to support this policy?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) reintroduced the London Residency criterion in November 2020.
I am committed to ensuring there is a systematic housing offer across London for those key workers who are essential to the resilience of the city and are most affected by high housing costs in the capital. I have recently invited the public to respond to a Consultation on Intermediate Housing, which considers what more can be done to support London’s key workers to access intermediate housing. A Consolidated Consultation Response Report has been published on the GLA’s website: www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/housing-and-land/buying-home/intermediate-homes-london
MPS officers receive additional London weighting and allowances to their salary and also benefit from free travel on the London underground and buses.

Mayor’s Action plan and the Metropolitan Police Service Handbook of Engagement

Siân Berry: Your new Action Plan says: “The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) is working to develop a ‘Handbook of Engagement’ which will be shared with communities.” When will this be published?

The Mayor: The MPS Handbook of Engagement will be published this summer.

Ladbroke Grove and Royalty Studios police stations

Tony Devenish: Please provide an update on the future of Ladbroke Grove and Royalty Studios police stations?

The Mayor: Notting Hill Police Station (‘Ladbroke Grove’) was identified for closure and disposal in the Public Access Strategy in 2017. It is no longer required by the MPS for operational purposes and is amongst a number of assets that are being considered for disposal in 2021/22.
Royalty Studios provides a temporary front counter facility for the Grenfell community and has been operational since March 2019. There is no decision on the future of the facility. Public consultation regarding its future is planned to take place in summer 2021.

Hate crime surge demographics

Unmesh Desai: Please provide a demographic breakdown of the victims of racist and religious hate crimes committed between May and September 2020.

The Mayor: The MPS have provided the information as requested which can be found on the attached spreadsheet.

The Mayor: 1099_Hate crime surge demographics.xlsx

Signalling works

Gareth Bacon: For each year of your mayoralty, please provide details of how many planned signalling works there have been on each TfL line, and how many planned signalling works have been postponed, cancelled or yet to take place.

The Mayor: The below table shows the number of times each line has been affected by a closure that has been planned specifically to allow signalling works, rather than the total number of closures (for example, one closure can affect the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines). The 2021 numbers include closures planned up 6 May 2021.
Circle
District
Hamm. & City
Jubilee
Metropolitan
Northern
2016
2
2
2017
7
1
7
2
2018
16
4
16
3
2019
19
10
16
13
2020
5
5
1
1
2021
3
3
3
3
5
1
The majority of planned closures for signalling work, including those on the Jubilee line, have been for the ‘Four Lines Modernisation’ programme (4LM), which is introducing automatic train operation to the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
While no signalling upgrade closures have been cancelled, some dates have moved in light of changes to the delivery programme and to integrate closures with external factors, such as sporting events. Closures have also been impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in the last year. The current programme shows that there are 38 planned closures for 4LM after 6 May 2021.
In addition to 4LM works, the completion of Whitechapel station for Crossrail has caused the occasional suspension of the London Overground’s East London line. During these closures, TfL has taken the opportunity to undertake signalling work to facilitate a service increase from 16 trains per hour (tph) to 18tph.
A closure of the Northern line is planned during this year’s Easter weekend to integrate the Northern Line Extension signalling with the rest of the Northern line.
TfL also undertakes a large number of planned signalling works each year that do not require line closures.
The majority of the London Overground and whole of the TfL Rail service operates on tracks owned by Network Rail, which would hold the data related to any signalling upgrades on those lines.

"No-one needs to sleep rough in London campaign" (1)

Susan Hall: Since the launch of your fund, referred to in your press release of 01/2/18, “Mayor invests £15m to buy homes for homeless Londoners”, how much money has been raised to date?

The Mayor: My rough sleeping campaign has raised more than £635,000 from Londoners for 30 homelessness charities since 2017. This is through donations given through our online donation page and through a partnership with TAP London, which has enabled Londoners to give over 57,000 times at over 100 contactless donation points across the city in locations.
The campaign has also contributed to more than 41,000 StreetLink referrals over the last three winters, with Londoners connecting rough sleepers directly to outreach teams. This has allowed charities such as St Mungo’s, as well as my own Rapid Response team, to reach rough sleepers quickly and bring them into support services.

Risks posed to bus drivers during COVID-19

Alison Moore: When will you publish phase 2 of TfL’s commissioned research on the risks posed to bus drivers during COVID-19 and will you share it with the Transport Committee?

The Mayor: The report was published on 19th March and can be viewed at https://content.tfl.gov.uk/phase-2-assessment-of-london-bus-driver-mortality-from-covid-19.pdf

CCTV in Taxis and PHVs

Alison Moore: The consultation says that 10% of Taxis/PHVs have CCTV installed and this is based on driver surveys conducted in 2017/18 and 2019/20. Are you able to explain why TfL does not know which vehicles have CCTV given TfL approves what CCTV and Event/Incident Data Recorders can be used and all vehicle modifications, such as installing CCTV, also need TfL approval?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has an approvals process in place for the installation of CCTV equipment which stipulates the camera model and position within the vehicle where it can be safely mounted. Vehicle owners can then select whichever equipment they wish to use from the approved list and contact the supplier directly to get it installed. Vehicle owners do not need to notify TfL of the installation of a pre-approved CCTV solution.
As vehicle owners are not required to inform TfL of subsequent installations, TfL does not hold data on the total number of vehicles with a CCTV system installed.

Trainee officers in the Violence Suppression Units

Siân Berry: Could you tell me how many Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers currently working in the Violence Suppression Units (VSUs) are trainees completing a four-week programme?

The Mayor: On completion of their ‘street duties’ training, probationer constables undertake several operational rotations on their Basic Command Unit (BCU) as part of their learning journey.
The first rotation is a 4 week attachment to a Violence Suppression Unit (VSU). The exact number of probationer constables within the VSUs varies from month to month.
In March 2021, there were around 170 probationer constables on operational attachment to VSUs across the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
These probationer constables are in addition to over 600 officers in permanent VSU posts across the MPS.

ULEZ Vans and Minibus Scrappage Scheme

Leonie Cooper: How many older more polluting vehicles have been scrapped using the Van and Minibus Scrappage Scheme? Please provide a breakdown by age and type of vehicle

The Mayor: From 22 February 2019, micro-businesses, sole traders and charities were able to apply for funds to help scrap and, if applicable, replace older, more polluting vehicles that don't meet the ULEZ standards. This funding was targeted at those most in need of support to help drive further improvements in cleaning up London’s polluted air. Due to significant demand, the scheme closed to new applicants on 14 October 2020 and is currently paused.
As at 16 February 2021, Transport for London (TfL) has accepted 4,843 applications from small businesses and charities who wish to scrap their vans and minibuses.
“Applications accepted” means that TfL has approved the application. A grant payment is made when TfL receives evidence that the vehicle has been scrapped and, if applicable, replaced. While customers have up to seven months to scrap their vehicles, the average time between acceptance and payment is 36 days .
To date, TfL has received evidence that 4,579 of the above vehicles have been scrapped, with 4,035 of these vehicles being scrapped and replaced.
As part of their approval process for the scheme, TfL confirms that an applicant’s vehicle does not comply with the ULEZ standards (pre Euro 6 for diesel vehicles and pre Euro 4 for petrol vehicles) and therefore meets the relevant scrappage eligibility requirements. While TfL checks when the vehicle was first registered, they do not record the date of registration in their system. Unfortunately, therefore, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by age of vehicle.

Early Years Mental Health

Onkar Sahota: I welcome the news that you have recently commissioned the Mayor’s Early Years Hubs to roll-out early years well-being pedagogy and develop online support for parents to enhance well-being and mental health for families. Can you tell me more about the support that will be offered to families?

The Mayor: Weknow that the impact of COVID–19 on the mental wellbeing of children and adults has been significant. I am therefore pleased to provide this extra support that builds on existing work developed on well-being pedagogy by Wandle Early Years Hub, one of my three Early Years Hubs.
By developing new resources for parents and curating existing materials, this project will support parental mental health and develop confidence to support their children in developing strong emotional resilience and mental health. Parents across Wandsworth, Merton, Barnet and Newham will have access to online support workshops and an online library of resources. Further dissemination of the online resources will take place through the Healthy Early Years London network and website. It will promote and build on specialist content for parents and carers such as the resources provided through the Good Thinking online wellbeing service.
By increasing knowledge of theimportanceofmental health and wellbeing amongst the early years workforce and parents the work will contribute to the Health and Wellbeing Recovery Mission.

Police Station Front Desk closures

Murad Qureshi: While the Church Street police station front desk is temporarily closed, residents of the City of Westminster are expected to go to Charing Cross police station front desk. When can we expect this temporary closure to end?

The Mayor: In light of the Covid 19 pandemic, the MPS completed a Heath and Safety Review of all its buildings in order to mitigate the risk of infection from COVID19 to members of the public and their workforce. The MPS took steps to implement the safest measures available to minimise the risk of infections. At present, residents of the City of Westminster are being asked to go to Charing Cross police station front desk as Church Street police station front desk is current closed due to the pandemic. We are currently in another period of lockdown and the decision to re-open this site will be reviewed when there is any easing of the current national restrictions.

Sinophobia attacks during coronavirus Pandemic

Murad Qureshi: Could the Met report the numbers of sinophobia (anti-Chinese) attacks we have had in London during the past two quarters compared to earlier on in the pandemic last year. Also can we have the figures for attacks in previous years?
What work is being done with the East Asian & South-East Asian communities in London to make them feel safe and secure in their homes and businesses?

The Mayor: The numbers requested are contained in the attached spreadsheet.
We have closely monitored reports of sinophobic attacks since the increase was first reported last year, with my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime receiving weekly updates. To provide reassurance to those targeted by hate crime in their communities, the MPS has developed reassurance and preventative policing plans in all BCUs to support Neighbourhood Policing Teams to respond to any increase in hate incidents.
Alongside this, MOPAC has increased its engagement with East Asian and South-East Asian communities in London. The Chinese Information and Advice Centre was involved in MOPAC’s recently concluded ‘Together Against Hate’ programme which trained organisations in raising awareness of hate crime and supporting victims.The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime attended an East Asian and South-East Asian communities roundtable in January to listen to their concerns and talk about what further actions they would like to see. The GLA is also undertaking similar engagement with the End the Virus of Racism campaign.

The Mayor: 1171_Sinophobia attacks during coronavirus Pandemic.xlsx

Key Worker ULEZ Exemptions (1)

Shaun Bailey: Which key workers are exempt from ULEZ while on duty?

The Mayor: Thousands of deaths in the capital each year are attributed to poor air quality, while emerging evidence suggests there is a link between pollution, higher rates of infection and a worse recovery from coronavirus. We already know how polluted air stunts the growth of children’s lungs and worsens chronic illness, such as asthma, lung and heart disease. In order to maximise the air quality benefits of the scheme it is imperative that all drivers play their part and any discounts, exemptions and reimbursements are minimised. As such, there are no exemptions to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) for key workers.
However, I recognise that some drivers, including key workers, may find it difficult to meet the ULEZ standards with their own vehicles, which is why in October 2019 I launched the ULEZ Car and Motorcycle Scrappage Scheme for low income and disabled Londoners. To date nearly £8m of grant payments have been made and over 3,600 people have been helped to take their dirty vehicles taken off the roads.

Catalytic converters (2)

Leonie Cooper: How many catalytic converter thefts have been reported in Merton during 2020?

The Mayor: In 2020 there were 451 catalytic converter thefts recorded in Merton.

Healthy Streets Programme

Shaun Bailey: What is the total budget for the Healthy Streets Programme and how much of this has been spent?

The Mayor: The 2020-21 Healthy Streets budget is £149m. At the end of period 11, £116m has been spent, across Transport for London and borough activities.

Taxis in Bus Lanes

Keith Prince: Do you believe your actions as Mayor have lived up to your answer to question 2016/1804, in which you told Assembly Member Eshalomi MP “This expectation was supported by TfL's own Bus Lane Policy, which asserts that taxis 'fulfil demands that cannot be met by the bus, train or tube”, and by previous Mayoral statements on the importance of taxi access to bus lanes?

The Mayor: I did not make the statement quoted in your question. My response to Mayor’s Question 2016/1804 makes clear that taxis are an integral part of London’s transport network for residents, visitors and businesses and highlights the special status and privileges that they enjoy. My Transport Strategy also highlights the importance of taxis and my commitment to ensuring that London continues to have a safe, secure and accessible world-class taxi service.
It remains the case that taxis can access more than 90 per cent of bus lanes in London. As you may be aware, TfL has also recently introduced a trial for 24-hour bus lanes, and existing access for taxis is being retained as part of this trial.

Police officers (2)

Leonie Cooper: How many more frontline police officers are now in Merton compared to May 2016?

The Mayor: In 2016, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) began merging boroughs together to create 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs).
Officer resource is allocated at a BCU level and flexed between the merged boroughs as required to maximise operational effectiveness and efficiency. It is therefore not possible to directly compare the number of officers on individual boroughs.
Merton is part of the South West BCU, along with Richmond, Wandsworth and Kingston. The number of officers on the South West BCU over time can be viewed on the workforce dashboard:
www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/data-and-statistics/policing/workforce-dashboard
Note there will be officers and staff that deliver services locally on a BCU but are counted in the MPS data centrally. For example, Met Operations.

Police officers (1)

Leonie Cooper: How many more frontline police officers are now in Wandsworth compared to May 2016?

The Mayor: In 2016, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) began merging boroughs together to create 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs).
Officer resource is allocated at a BCU level and flexed between the merged boroughs as required to maximise operational effectiveness and efficiency. It is therefore not possible to directly compare the number of officers on individual boroughs.
Wandsworth is part of the South West BCU, along with Richmond, Merton and Kingston. The number of officers on the South West BCU over time can be viewed on the workforce dashboard:
www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/data-and-statistics/policing/workforce-dashboard

London Business Hub Support in Croydon and Sutton

Steve O'Connell: How many businesses in Croydon and Sutton have you supported through the London businesses Hub?

The Mayor: Since my London Business Hub started to deliver medium and high intensity support and capturing full business data of businesses supported, in November 2019, it has supported 53 businesses in Croydon and 9 businesses in Sutton, through its business support programmes. The London Business Hub site contains factsheets, resources for Brexit and Covid-19 and information about business support available across London delivered both by the private and public sector. Data for businesses that access support & information through the website is currently unavailable. Whilst the face-to-face offer paused at the end of March 2020 due to the pandemic, businesses are still able to access advisors, 1-2-1 meetings and a full programme of workshops and events delivered online.
Until March 2019, Croydon based businesses were primarily supported by the Coast to Capital Growth Hub. As a result of the national LEP Review, it was agreed that Coast to Capital would cease providing support to Croydon businesses following a transition period during which Croydon businesses could access services from both LEPs until the 31st of December 2020. In November 2019 the London Business Hub opened five physical spaces across London, and one of them was established in Croydon in the Sussex Innovation Centre, to support local businesses and increase the reach and engagement in the area.

Global Cities FRS comparison (1)

Andrew Dismore: In London the average area covered by each fire station is 15km2. In New York it is 3km2 and in Toronto it is 8km2. What assessment has been made of the impact on response times as a result of the large areas LFB stations are expected to cover?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) officers have not been able to obtain comparative data on response times in all the cities mentioned in the comparison.The data they have been able to obtain on fire outcomes,as a proxy for the impact of attendance times, shows that this relationship is not straightforward. For example, New York’s fire stations cover a much smaller area than those in London, but New York experiences a significantly higher rate of fires and deaths from fire. LFB officers are undertaking follow-up work with some of the cities that have been highlighted within a piece of internal research, that was shared with the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee, to understand what lies behind these differences and to see if lessons can be learnt in London.

Police video learning

Susan Hall: To date, how many videos have appeared on the Met's peer-to-peer video learning system (known as Metflix)?

The Mayor: As of March 2021, 757 videos have appeared on the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Peer-to-Peer Video Learning system, Metflix.

Section 60

Peter Whittle: As you will be aware, a Section 60 is a power given by a Chief Officer (or in urgent circumstances an Inspector or above) which allows police officers to stop and search anyone in a specific area, without needing to have reasonable grounds. It is granted under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Could you tell me how many Section 60’s were issued in the Metropolitan Police District over the last three years and tabulate your response by borough.

The Mayor: Please see requested data attached.

The Mayor: 4054_Section 60_v3 (2).xlsx

Housing size mix (3)

Andrew Boff: Will you please provide a breakdown by number of bedrooms for the number of GLA-funded London Living Rent homes started and completed in each financial year from 2016/17 onwards?

The Mayor: We are unable to provide the information in the format requested. However, the London Plan Annual Monitoring Reports provide the most comprehensive picture of affordable housing supply in London by number of bedrooms, and a more holistic picture of the number of affordable homes of each size being built within London. The accompanying table shows the number of intermediate homes completed in each year between 2015/16 and 2018/19 (the latest available) by the number of bedrooms. This category includes London Living Rent, other intermediate rent, shared ownership and other intermediate homes.
Intermediate
1b / studio
2b
3b
4b+
Total
3b+ %
2015/16
1,268
1,361
357
24
3,010
13%
2016/17
1,151
1,373
409
40
2,973
15%
2017/18
1,183
1,314
331
26
2,854
13%
2018/19*
1,423
1,374
406
51
3,254
14%
* provisional data

Housing size mix (4)

Andrew Boff: Will you please provide a breakdown by number of bedrooms for the number of GLA-funded intermediate rent homes started and completed in each financial year from 2016/17 onwards?

The Mayor: Please see my response to MQ 2021/0492.

Housing size mix (1)

Andrew Boff: Will you please provide a breakdown by number of bedrooms for the number of GLA-funded social rented homes started and completed in each financial year from 2016/17 onwards?

The Mayor: We are unable to provide the information in the format requested. However, the London Plan Annual Monitoring Reports provide the most comprehensive picture of affordable housing supply in London by number of bedrooms, and a more holistic picture of the number of affordable homes of each size being built within London. The accompanying table shows the number of social rented homes completed in each year between 2015/16 and 2018/19 (the latest available) by the number of bedrooms.
My new London Plan requires London boroughs to define what size mix of social housing they want to see in their local area, which will help ensure that the right homes for households in need are built in each part of London.
Social rent
1b / studio
2b
3b
4b+
Total
3b+ %
2015/16
1,020
1,284
882
310
3,496
34%
2016/17
1,018
1,120
814
283
3,235
34%
2017/18
373
648
496
99
1,616
37%
2018/19*
787
1,058
968
306
3,119
41%
* provisional data

Housing size mix (2)

Andrew Boff: Will you please provide a breakdown by number of bedrooms for the number of GLA-funded London Affordable Rent homes started and completed in each financial year from 2016/17 onwards?

The Mayor: We are unable to provide the information in the format requested. However, the London Plan Annual Monitoring Reports provide the most comprehensive picture of affordable housing supply in London by number of bedrooms, and a more holistic picture of the number of affordable homes of each size being built within London. The accompanying table shows the number of Affordable Rent homes completed in each year between 2015/16 and 2018/19 (the latest available) by the number of bedrooms. This category includes London Affordable Rent but also other Affordable Rent homes.
My new London Plan requires London boroughs to define what size mix of social housing they want to see in their local area, which will help ensure that the right homes for households in need are built in each part of London.

HSE and LFB 1

Andrew Dismore: What were the findings and recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after their recent inspection of LFB premises?

The Mayor: Following the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) inspections of two fire stations and further information supplied to them, the HSE found that London Fire Brigade (LFB) has put in place several risk controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They did, however, identify a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act in relation to the management of COVID-19 for a specific training course delivered at Brigade headquarters. To address this the HSE required LFB to review the specific risk assessment for this training course.
In addition, the HSE recommended that LFB undertake a review of training provision, specifically with respect to reviewing what could be delivered to staff virtually, rather than face-to-face. This also included making arrangements for better monitoring of fire station COVID-19 risk assessments and arrangements for better control risks in dormitories, particularly female dormitories.

Catalytic converters (1)

Leonie Cooper: How many catalytic converter thefts have been reported in Wandsworth during 2020?

The Mayor: In 2020 there were 462 catalytic converter thefts recorded in Wandsworth.

COVID-19 and the LFB Transformation Plan

Andrew Dismore: How has the second wave of COVID-19 impacted on the transformation plan?

The Mayor: The Transformation Delivery Plan (TDP) continues to be affected by the pandemic, but a year into the Plan, almost half of the 65 actions have been completed. Of the remaining 34 actions, 21 remain on track. The ‘seizing the future’ strategic pillar is the most advanced with almost 80 per centof the actions completed, followed by the ‘outward facing’ pillar with almost 70 per cent of actions completed. ‘Delivering excellence’ is the pillar that has been most affected by the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, particularly around the delivery of training. The ‘best people, best place to work’ pillar has the most actions outstanding but the vast majority of these are on track to be completed on time.

Impact of COVID-19 on workers (3)

Susan Hall: Has the Deputy Mayor for Business undertaken any specific work on the impact of COVID-19 on high street businesses in London?

The Mayor: Since the pandemic started, my Deputy Mayor for Business has been working closely with a range of stakeholders to put in place measures to support businesses of all sizes in high streets and town centres across all London boroughs. He has chaired a weekly meeting under the Strategic Coordination Group focused on Business Impacts that has been instrumental in monitoring, identifying, assessing, and reporting the business and economic impacts of COVID-19.
The Recovery Programme has identified High street revival as one of the nine missions to be supported as part of London’s recovery. To that effect, the High Streets for All mission sets out a range of actions that London government will prioritise. This includes a forthcoming challenge fund to help high streets develop strategies for their renewal.
I have commissioned a major piece of research into the likely impact of emerging trends on the Central Activity Zone (CAZ), and have championed the creation of a High Streets Data Service and Partnership that will provide an interactive data service to be used by Business Improvement Districts, local authorities and relevant practitioners.

Police corruption offences

Unmesh Desai: How many Met Police officers have been a) charged and b) convicted under Section 26 (corrupt or improper exercise of police powers) of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015? Please provide a breakdown by year since the act came into effect. Please also provide details of which borough or BCU the officers charged or convicted were based within.

The Mayor: Since the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 came into force, two officers have been charged with an offence under Section 26. The details are as follows:
2016 – one officer from North East BCU
2018 – one officer from North West BCU
Neither charge resulted in a conviction for the offence.

Dog theft

Leonie Cooper: With prices for dogs rising considerably during the Covid crisis, dog theft has also risen. Can the Mayor tell me how many dogs have been reported stolen in Merton and Wandsworth over the last 2 years?

The Mayor: The requested data can be found within the MPS published dashboard below:
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/stolen-animals-dashboard/

Violent Crime (1)

Leonie Cooper: What are the latest statistics on violent crime in Wandsworth?

The Mayor: The latest recorded violent crime offences by London borough can be found within the below published MPS dashboards:
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard/
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/hate-crime-dashboard/

Met Police Contracts with Chinese Companies

Shaun Bailey: How many contracts does the Metropolitan Police Service have with companies that are based in China and please list them?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service does not have any direct relationships with any companies based and headquartered in China.

Uber

David Kurten: Since Uber London were granted a Private Hire operator’s licence at Westminster Magistrates Court, 16 drivers have been revoked for alleged fraudulent login offences. Is the Mayor confident all instances have been identified and there is no continued widespread problem?

The Mayor: Licensed private hire operators must notify Transport for London (TfL), as the licensing authority, in writing, if they have had cause to dismiss a driver because of his or her unsatisfactory conduct. TfL then takes appropriate licensing action.
TfL continually monitors and liaises with all private hire operators to seek ways to enhance safety and security and reduce the opportunities for fraudulent activity.

Direct Vision permits (2)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2019/17396. How many HGV Safety Permits have you issued by month since the launch of the Direct Vision Standard (DVS), and how many do you expect to have issued when enforcement commences on 1 March 2021?

The Mayor: The total number of Direct Vision Standard (DVS) permits issued by Transport for London (TfL) when enforcement of the scheme went live on 1 March 2021 was 98,108. A breakdown of this figure by vehicle star rating and multi- vs single-vehicle permits is shown in the attached table. As of 11 March the total number of permits issued had increased to 106,278. In addition, a total of 37,634 vehicles rated zero star are on the 90-day grace period list for fitting of the required safe systems.

The Mayor: 0473 - Direct Vision permits (2) Russell - to 10 Mar 21.xlsx

Gang Violence Matrix

Peter Whittle: I note the report in The Guardian on 3 February 2021, ‘One thousand young, black men have been removed from an allegedly discriminatory gangs database used by police inLondon, after a review found they posed no or little risk of committing violence.’1Why were these individuals on the Gang Violence Matrix in the first place, if they represented no threat to others?

1https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/03/a-thousand-young-black-men-removed-from-met-gang-violence-prediction-database

The Mayor: The Gang’s Violence Matrix (GVM) is a dynamic intelligence tool the police use to identify and risk-assess gang members across London who are involved in gang violence. People are added to the GVM when the police have current intelligence that shows they are part of a gang. They are removed after six months when there has been no further [and current] intelligence.
The 1000 people removed as referenced by MOPAC have been removed since 2018, when the Met reviewed the GVM and removed all those where there was no intelligence within six months. This is now standard practice as a result of the Met’s improved strict auditing practices. The GVM is reviewed on a regular basis by each BCU to ensure the cohort is as accurate and current as possible.
Further detail about how the GVM operates can be found at: https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/gangs-violence-matrix/

Unconscious Bias Training

David Kurten: The Government’s Equalities Office ‘Unconscious bias and diversity training – what the evidence says’ report published 15 December 2020, concluded that there: “iscurrently no evidence that this training changes behaviour in the long term or improves workplace equality in terms of representation of women, ethnic minorities or other minority groups”. It also states that there is emerging evidence of unintended negative consequences. As a result, it is being phased out in the Civil Service1.Given this damning conclusion, will you instruct City Hall, Metropolitan Police Service, London Fire Brigade and Transport for London to cease all unconscious bias training?

1https://www.gov.uk/government/news/written-ministerial-statement-on-unconscious-bias-training

The Mayor: There are currently no plans to instruct GLA bodies to cease all unconscious bias training. Through my Leading by Example group, the GLA group bodies will continue to review and share best practice and to implement evidence-based Diversity and Inclusion initiatives which aim to challenge structural inequalities and bring about lasting change.
At the GLA we have a comprehensive approach to creating a more diverse and inclusive culture, led by the Chief Officer. In 2019/20 we delivered Inclusive GLA which was a cultural change programme incorporating elements of unconscious bias learning. It was designed in the light of Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on how to ensure such interventions are as effective as possible. The programme was delivered within teams, grounded in the context of the GLA, and any unconscious bias content within the programme was linked to taking individual and collective action to mitigate bias and create a more inclusive culture. Such interventions have been found to lead to behavioural change. The evaluation showed participants increased their awareness of how to mitigate bias and challenge others. We have also seen positive increases in workforce representation and staff survey indicators relating to inclusion. For example, in 2020 we reached the highest levels of representation for disabled, and Black Asian and other ethnic minority staff since reporting began. The programmes have concluded and the training is now incorporated into our induction, professional development and management development training. It will continue to be updated to reflect best practice, evidence and research.
Investing, in high-quality learning and development and other diversity initiatives which help to create an inclusive culture is central to all of the GLA Group bodies, including the GLA, Metropolitan Police Service, London Fire Brigade and Transport for London.

No-one needs to sleep rough in London campaign” (3)

Susan Hall: Which homeless charities have been beneficiaries of your campaign, launched in 2017 and referred to in your press release entitled “Mayor invests £15m to buy homes for homeless Londoners”?

The Mayor: Since 2017, there have been multiple charity beneficiaries of the Mayor’s homelessness campaign, with the coalition membership changing every year. The 2020-21 campaign has been focused on raising funds for youth-focused homelessness charities due to the particularly devastating impact COVID-19 has had on young people this year.
They have been disproportionately affected by the loss of jobs, experienced a lack of opportunity within education and had to face the negative impact that the current climate has had on their mental health. They have also long-relied particularly on sofa-surfing, something that has become more challenging during the pandemic. These factors, amongst others, have contributed to an increase in youth homelessness. The charities we’ve focused on this year are: Depaul UK, akt, Centrepoint and New Horizon.
Charities who were beneficiaries since 2017 are:
The 999 Club and Lady Florence Trust, The Albert Kennedy Trust, Barons Court Project, Caritas - Anchor House, Centrepoint Soho, The Church Army, The Connection at St Martins-in the-Fields, Crisis UK, Depaul UK, Evolve Housing + Support, Glass Door Homeless Charity, Homeless Action in Barnet, Homeless Link, Housing Justice, Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness, LookAhead, New Horizon Youth Centre, Providence Row, The Salvation Army, Shelter, the National Campaign for Homeless People Limited, The Single Homeless Project, Spear Housing Association Limited, St Mungo Community Housing Association, Thames Reach Charity, The Big Issue Foundation, Passage 2000, West London Mission Methodist Circuit, National Council of Young Men's Christian Associations, Veteran's Aid.

No-one needs to sleep rough in London campaign” (2)

Susan Hall: Please outline how the homeless charities which have benefited from your campaign, have since helped to prevent people from sleeping rough in London.

The Mayor: My rough sleeping campaign has raised over £635,000 for 30 homeless charities since 2017, which has been used on services and provisions for rough sleepers in the capital. Below are a few examples from the homelessness charities on how they used these donations to support rough sleepers, and helped prevent them from returning to the streets:
The campaign has also contributed to more than 41,000 StreetLink referrals over the last three winters, with Londoners connecting rough sleepers directly to outreach teams. This has allowed charities such as St Mungo’s, as well as my own Rapid Response team, to reach rough sleepers quickly and bring them into support services.
The homelessness charities also benefited from the campaign in the form of volunteering resource. Since November 2018 has the campaign has driven over 6,900 sign-ups to hear about volunteering opportunities, providing charities with vital support that they require over the busy winter months.

Bishopsgate Traffic Order and Streetspace

David Kurten: Responding to a legal challenge by Licensed Taxi Driver Association (LTDA) and United Trade Action Group (UTAG) the High Court, on 20 January 2021, ruled that the Mayor’s Streetspace Plan, Interim Guidance to Boroughs and A10 Bishopsgate Traffic Order that effectively excludes licensed taxis, were unlawful. The judgement noted the following:
“decision-making processes for the Plan, Guidance and A10 Order were seriously flawed, and the decisions were not a rational response to the issues which arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.” (ref: Para 275 of High Court Judgement).


“flaws identified were symptomatic of an ill-considered response which sought to take advantage of the pandemic to push through, on an emergency basis without consultation” (para 266).


“failed to distinguish taxis from “general traffic” and relevant consideration of their role “in facilitating accessible public transport for those with mobility impairments” (Para 278).


“no evidence that the public sector equality duty was applied prior to the announcement of the Plan. In my judgment, the proposals to prevent or restrict vehicular access widely across London’s streets plainly had potential adverse impacts upon people with protected characteristics, namely, the elderly and disabled, who rely on taxis and private cars to make door-to-door journeys, and could not reasonably be expected to cycle, walk or use public transport” (para 179).


“Most worryingly of all, the EqIA [a comprehensive equality impact assessment] read as if its purpose was to justify the decision already taken” (Para 193).
In light of this damning judgement, will you instruct TfL to reverse and abolish, implemented and planned measures including pop-up cycle lanes, brought in under the Streetspace Plan and A10 Bishopsgate Traffic Order?

The Mayor: I am disappointed by the judgment in the Streetspace case and Transport for London (TfL) is seeking permission to appeal it. The challenge was against the A10 Bishopsgate scheme and TfL’s interim Streetspace guidance to boroughs. No findings were made about the lawfulness of other schemes, which can remain in place as appropriate.
The coronavirus pandemic remains a significant public health risk, and it is vital that TfL works with the boroughs to implement temporary projects that reduce pressure on public transport by providing safe and attractive alternatives for cycling and walking.
TfL issued new consultation guidance in December 2020, and continues to review temporary schemes in line with the changing picture of travel demand, public health guidance and national government guidance on appropriate transport responses.

MPS Budget Cuts

Shaun Bailey: By how much are you planning on cutting the Metropolitan Police budget?

The Mayor: A decade of Government cuts to policing forced the MPS to make £850 million of savings since 2010. London’s National and International Capital City grant funding continues to be £159m less than the Home Office’s independent adviser deemed necessary to cover the unique responsibilities of policing our capital. Furthermore, the MPS are expected to incur £58m additional costs relating to policing the pandemic in 20/21 but this is only partially covered by the grants provided by the Government, resulting in a shortfall currently estimated to be £21m. This will increase by the end of the financial year. As a result, for the 2021-22 budget, MOPAC/MPS is required to find £61.6million of savings and efficiencies, which comprises savings already identified in the February 2020 published budget of £50.2 million and new identified savings of £11.4 million.
The safety of Londoners is my first priority, and while the Government has underfunded policing in London for over a decade, I have stepped in to do everything in my power to support our police service. Since coming to office, I have invested £1.08 billion in the Met Police – more than any other Mayor of London – which includes diverting both council tax and business rates receipts to policing for the first time from City Hall. In the 2021-22 budget I have taken steps to have protect the funding of 1,300 officers for next 4 years.
I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that the Met has the funding it needs to keep our city safe, and to press the Government to fulfil its duty to do the same.

Tripartite agreement and the pandemic response (1)

Andrew Dismore: Has the tripartite agreement between the National Employers, Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and
National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) been helpful for blue light collaboration during the pandemic?

The Mayor: Yes. The tripartite agreement, whilst it was in force last year, provided the framework under which London Fire Brigade operational staff took on additional duties to support the London Ambulance Service and other partners during the pandemic.I am grateful to the Commissioner and the Regional FBU for the constructive way they have worked together during the pandemic for the benefit of London and London’s communities.

Tripartite agreement and the pandemic response (2)

Andrew Dismore: Do you think that there is a case for renegotiating and implementing a new tripartite agreement for the second wave?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is working in partnership with the London region of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) on the response to COVID-19. It is always preferable to work under a national agreement as this minimises the potential for disputes and I would welcome a new tripartite agreement covering future pandemic response. In 2020 LFB reached local agreements with the FBU under the auspices of the tripartite/NJC agreements, and under these LFB has provided extensive Ambulance Driver Assistance to the NHS. LFB staff have also worked with colleagues in the London Ambulance Service and Metropolitan Police Service in the ‘Pandemic Multi-Agency Response Team’ (PMART) and have delivered food and drink to food banks and vulnerable residents, undertaken clothing deliveries for homeless people, and assembled and distributed PPE for the NHS. LFB is committed tocontinuing toassistemergency service colleagues in the fight against the pandemic.

Tripartite agreement and the pandemic response (3)

Andrew Dismore: How important is it that the NFCC is included in negotiations between the National Employers and FBU? How does the involvement of NFCC in negotiations help the work of the Brigade?

The Mayor: The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) hasanimportant role to play given their expertise, resources and contacts. London Fire Brigade welcomes the involvement of the NFCC in negotiations which can lead to improved partnership working, greater blue light collaboration, and thereby more effective support to the NHS and other agencies during the pandemic.

Stop and search arrests

Susan Hall: For each year, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, what percentage of all arrests in London were the result of stop and search?

The Mayor: Please see the below table which shows the proportion of all arrests that were the result of stop and search between 2014 and 2020 inclusive.
Year
% of all arrests resulting stop & search
2014
16%
2015
14%
2016
15%
2017
15%
2018
17%
2019
23%
2020
24%